How is the model programmed?

Hi community! My team is using the Scenario Generator and Coastal Blue Carbon Model to valuate seagrass carbon sequestration, and we have successfully run the model. As we interpret results, we want to better understand and compare methodologies by seeing how the models are coded.

  1. Could the NatCap team share the code for the model behind the software UI?

  2. In addition, we are also wondering why the NatCap Team decided not to provide a summary table of the numeric result but to store all the values in raster files and cells instead.

Thanks!

Hello @Yirui ,

The InVEST source code repository is located at GitHub - natcap/invest: InVEST: models that map and value the goods and services from nature that sustain and fulfill human life.. For the two specific tools you are interested in:

Regarding the decision to not provide summary tables, this decision is made on a case-by-case basis for each model and tool within InVEST. Since the models are all spatially-explicit, providing the model’s spatial outputs themselves allows you to extract and summarize exactly the information that you need for your particular analysis. Some models do provide summary tables for certain bits of information that are either difficult for the user to summarize or that serve a known and common use case.

Having said that, could you describe what information you would be looking for in a table and for which model/tool? If it’s a common need, we may consider adding it.

Please let us know if you have any further questions!
James

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Hi James,

Thanks so much for your reply! We are looking for the numeric value of carbon sequestration by year and cumulatively, which we believe is as valuable as the spatially-explicit result!

Best,
Yirui

Understood. Thanks for the suggestion! Fortunately, the results you’re looking for are very easy to calculate in a GIS application, so you’ll have to go that route until we add this output in the future.