The whole area is divided in grid-cells in which an independent demographic model regulates the PFG life cycle. PFG abundances are structured by age into cohorts and each cohort is attributed to a height stratum according to the growth parameters.
Different submodels affect this cycle at various levels :
Interaction through light and/or soil resources regulates interactions between cohorts affecting germination, recruitment and survival.
Habitat suitability affects the recruitment and fecundity rates.
The seed dispersal model makes FATE spatially explicit by connecting grid-cells.
It depends on the amount of seeds produced by mature plants and affects each PFG’s seed bank in each cell.
Disturbances affect PFG survival and fecundity.