Software & Models¶
The lab’s work is built on process-based ecosystem models. We develop new process representations, contribute them upstream, and release the analysis code behind our papers.
Models We Develop¶
A process-based model of peatland carbon and nutrient cycling. Our contributions added peat cohort tracking, microbial controls, and an explicit ericoid mycorrhizal fungal pool.
A comprehensive process-based ecosystem model. We extended it with mineral dissolution kinetics to simulate enhanced rock weathering and biota–mineral interactions in croplands.
Model developments representing mycorrhizal functional diversity and the carbon cost of nitrogen acquisition in temperate forests.
Technical Skills¶
Languages: Fortran, Python, MATLAB, R, C, Stella
Computing: Linux environments, high-performance computing, GPU-accelerated workflows
Training: NERSC N-Ways to GPU Programming Bootcamp (2025); NCAR/UCAR Community Terrestrial Systems Model (CTSM) Tutorial (2022)
- Shao, S., Wu, J., He, H., Moore, T. R., Bubier, J., Larmola, T., Juutinen, S., & Roulet, N. T. (2022). Ericoid mycorrhizal fungi mediate the response of ombrotrophic peatlands to fertilization: a modeling study. New Phytologist, 238(1), 80–95. 10.1111/nph.18555
- Shao, S., Wurzburger, N., Sulman, B., & Hicks Pries, C. (2023). Ectomycorrhizal effects on decomposition are highly dependent on fungal traits, climate, and litter properties: A model-based assessment. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 184, 109073. 10.1016/j.soilbio.2023.109073
- Shao, S., Shortt, Z., Sulman, B., & Hicks Pries, C. (2025). Modeling Mycorrhizal Carbon Costs in Temperate Forests: The Impacts of Functional Diversity and Global Change Factors. Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences, 130(10). 10.1029/2025jg009198