The vegetation of a simulated location is represented as a mixture of plant functional types (PFTs) representing a collection of species having relatively similar functional and morphological characteristics. The general characteristics of the PFTs defined in the instruction files that accompany LPJ-GUESS Education 3.0 are listed below. These general characteristics translate into specific values for a number of parameters, as specified in the instruction file. Note that the defined PFTs and their parameters are somewhat different depending on whether the model is run in cohort or population mode.
| PFT | Distrib- ution | Growth form | Leaf phenology | Shade-tolerance1 | Photosyn-thetic pathway |
| BNE | boreal | needle-leaved tree | evergreen | tolerant | C3 |
| BINE2 | boreal | needle-leaved tree | evergreen | intolerant | C3 |
| BNS | boreal | needle-leaved tree | summer- green | intolerant | C3 |
| BBS3 | boreal | broadleaved tree | summer- green | n/a | C3 |
| TeNE | temperate | needle-leaved tree | evergreen | intolerant | C3 |
| TeBS | temperate | broadleaved tree | summer- green | tolerant | C3 |
| IBS2 | boreal/ temperate | broadleaved tree | summer- green | intolerant | C3 |
| TeBE | temperate | broadleaved tree | evergreen | tolerant | C3 |
| TrBE | tropical | broadleaved tree | evergreen | tolerant | C3 |
| TrIBE2 | tropical | broadleaved tree | evergreen | intolerant | C3 |
| TrBR | tropical | broadleaved tree | raingreen | intolerant | C3 |
| C3G | boreal/ temperate | grass | summer- green/ raingreen | intolerant | C3 |
| C4G | tropical | grass | summer- green/ raingreen | intolerant | C4 |
1Not defined in population mode.
2Cohort mode only.
3Population mode only.