This includes the carbon cycle but also changes in community composition and vegetation structure in response to disturbance (e.g., fire, land use) and climate change (see figure).

There are two time-scales for this dynamics: Succession considers changes in community composition and vegetation structure over periods up to several hundred years, typically following disturbance such as fire or land use. Over longer-periods of times (e.g., centuries, millenia) the biogeography of vegetation changes in response to climate change.

There are two main projects related to dynamic vegetation. Peter Thornton is leading an effort to add the carbon and nitrogen cycles to the Community Land Model. This uses carbon and nitrogen parameterizations of the BIOME-BGC model. Vegetation structure (e.g., leaf area index, carbon pools) changes over time, but community composition is prescribed. Gordon Bonan and Sam Levis are leading an effort to allow for dynamic community composition. The current implementation of dynamic vegetation uses many of ideas formulated in the Lund-Potsdam-Jena dynamic global vegetation model.