Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
9443495 | Ecological Modelling | 2005 | 21 Pages |
Abstract
The main problem in the Orbetello Lagoon is the control of the submersed vegetation, both in biomass and inventory, to manage a problematical coexistence between macroalgae and macrophytes. While macroalgae are liable to cause dystrophic crises, macrophytes oxygenate and stabilise the sediment and thus control the nutrient flux into the water. A mathematical model was required by the Orbetello Lagoon Managerial Office to predict the development of both groups and test the actions to favour macrophytes over macroalgae, in the context of a decision support system. This model, developed for this need, takes into account the interactions between nutrients and the submersed vegetation in a 2D spatial context including a hydrodynamic model for the water movements and an ecological model describing the interactions between nutrients and the submersed vegetation. In the spatial grid the model operates with two interlocked modules: each cell implements the kinetics of nutrients, vegetation and their interactions, running on an hourly basis to keep track of the circadian cycles, whereas an advection/diffusion mechanism running on a daily basis exchanges information among all the grid cells. The model output consists of daily variations in nutrient concentrations and vegetation biomass showing the relative abundance of either group as a consequence of environmental conditions. After a sensitivity assessment, the model has been calibrated with data from the Orbetello Lagoon, where it can now be used as a forecasting tool to predict the development of vegetation and the relative advantage that macrophytes may have upon macroalgae.
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Authors
Elisabetta Giusti, Stefano Marsili-Libelli,