BILJOU
Forest water balance model
- Silva Joint Research Unit
WELCOME
BILJOU© is a forest water balance model developed by the Joint Research Unit Silva, a collaborative project between INRAE, AgroParisTech and the University of Lorraine.
This site was initially developed as part of the project Joint Technological Network AFORCE with support funding from GIP ECOFOR. Development of the new version of our website with an added English version was made possible by the laboratory of excellence, LabEx ARBRE .
News and updates
About Us
The BILJOU© model is an open source research tool available to the international community of forest managers, teachers, students and
researchers. We have designed BILJOU© to offer integrated online simulation and a continuously evolving, robust set of solutions aimed
at furthering our understanding the mechanisms driving interactions between forest ecosystems and their climatic and edaphic environments.
The BILJOU© model is limited to non-commercial use only (see license restrictions).
The version 2.0 of this web site is now up and running
We have just enhanced the BILJOU© online experience by adding full translation of the web site in
both French and in English.
We have also added a new information page dedicated to blue and
green water to illustrate interactive relationships that occur between
ecosystem services provided by forests.
Discover the new tool features by registering online!
New special functions added to the BILJOU © 2.0 application:
- Calculating potential evapotranspiration (PET) using the FAO Penman-Monteith method independently from relative humidity or atmospheric saturation deficit.
- Modeling rainfall interception using leaf area index and precipitation rates.
- Calculating PET using the Penman-Monteith method using the duration of bright sunshine in the absence of global solar radiation (the sum of direct, diffuse and reflected solar radiation), which is often the case when using older data. For this functionality, the tool requires geographic coordinates and site altitude.
New graphics for representing variables:
- Actual evapotranspiration (AET), Potential evapotranspiration (PET).
- A classified representation of the years of drought using three indicators: water deficit, the duration and the magnitude of the deficit.
- A new mode for representing daily measurements taken over several years.
Fully updated graphics designed for intuitive functionality:
- Dynamic and interactive graphs with floating text boxes and time zoom control.
- New options for comparing data between given years with overlaying data curves on intra-annual graphs for more precise analysis.
- Statistics (average or median variables) can now be displayed on request for each graphic.
The simulations dashboard has also been enhanced to allow you to track your simulation calculations and offers new features.
Our aim was to create a fully comprehensive and informative website focused on forest water balance, on
the impact of fresh water fluxes that exist in forest ecosystems and the factors that cause their variation.
Our site also offers access to the dynamic online modeling tool BILJOU© with clear explanations for fast and efficient user interface.
BILJOU© offers interactive simulation modeling from uploaded input data to calculate daily and annual results.
In addition to output files, BILJOU© offers graphic modules to visualize simulated temporal variations in water fluxes (evapotranspiration, drainage) as well as drought indicators (duration and intensity of water deficit).
Please feel free to contact us with any comments or suggestions about our site or the BILJOU© modeling
tool. We welcome your feedback.