A simple method for generating long-term Holocene climate data with future climate projections from meteorological observation data

Peatlands play a crucial role in global carbon storage, yet their resilience to climate change remains uncertain. This study presents a novel method for generating long-term (>1000 years) site-specific climate data to drive peatland ecohydrological models. Using meteorological observations, we employ the Long Ashton Research Station Weather Generator (LARS-WG) to produce stochastic climate series for precipitation and temperature. The method integrates Holocene climate reconstructions from the EPOCH-2 database to simulate paleoclimate trends and interpolates climate projections based on Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSP) from CMIP6 models. Finally, a time series of potential evapotranspiration is calculated using a modified version of the Thornthwaite equation. This approach ensures continuity in climate inputs for peatland modelling, aiding in the assessment of long-term climate impacts on carbon dynamics. Our method provides a replicable framework for other regions, supporting improved climate-driven peatland simulations.

•Long-term paleoclimate data with climate projections tailored to specific sites are scarcely available

•This research outlines a simple method for generating climate series for driving ecosystem models

•Uses open-source resources and databases that are applicable across Europe