Summary of "2.23. Plant Mortality — ctsm CTSM master documentation":

**Overview of Plant Mortality**
This section discusses the representation of plant mortality for perennial vegetation types in the Community Land Model (CTSM). Mortality is intended to capture the death of individual plants within a stand due to various processes, collectively referred to as "gap-phase" mortality. These processes include wind throw, insect attack, disease, extreme temperatures or drought, and age-related decline in vigor.

**Exclusions**
Mortality caused by fire and anthropogenic land cover change are treated separately in other chapters of the documentation (Chapters 2.24 and 2.27, respectively).

**Key Points**
- Plant mortality in CTSM applies to perennial vegetation types.
- It represents the death of individual plants within a stand due to processes like wind throw, insect attack, disease, extreme weather, and age-related decline.
- These processes are referred to as "gap-phase" mortality.
- Mortality due to fire and land cover change are addressed in other parts of the documentation.