TY - JOUR

T1 - Which factors and processes drive the spatio-temporal dynamics of brackish marshes?—Insights from development and parameterisation of a mechanistic vegetation model

AU - Carus, Jana

AU - Heuner, Maike

AU - Paul, Maike

AU - Schröder, Boris

N1 - Funding information: This study was mainly financed by the research programme KLIWAS (Impacts of climate change on waterways and navigation ? Searching for options of adaptation) of the German Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI) . We thank the Environmental Modelling working group at the University of Potsdam for valuable advice and support. We furthermore thank Uwe Schröder for discussion about site selection and data provision. We are especially grateful to Hartmut Hein, who provided the HAMSOM data together with helpful suggestions on further data processing. We thank Christina Tecklenburg for providing helpful comments on earlier drafts of the manuscript. BS acknowledges funding by the German Science Foundation (grants nos. SCHR1000/6-2 and SCHR1000/8-2 ) as well as by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (joint project COMTESS ? Sustainable Coastal Land Management: Trade-offs in Ecosystem Services, grant no. 01LL0911C ); joint project RELEEZE ? Release from Coastal Squeeze , grant no. 01LC1701 ). MP acknowledges funding by the German Science Foundation (grant no. PA 2547/1-1 ).

PY - 2017/11/10

Y1 - 2017/11/10

N2 - Tidal marsh vegetation offers important ecosystem services. However, in many estuaries, extensive embankments, artificial bank protection, river dredging and agriculture threaten tidal marshes. In this study we analysed the processes underlying the spatio-temporal patterns of tidal marsh vegetation in the Elbe estuary and quantified the influence of specific habitat factors by developing and applying the process-based dynamic habitat-macrophyte model HaMac in a pattern-oriented way. In order to develop and parameterise the model, we measured a wide range of biotic and abiotic parameters in two study sites in the Elbe estuary and compared observed and simulated patterns. The final model is able to reproduce the general patterns of vegetation zonation, development and growth and thus helps to understand the underlying processes. By considering the vegetative reproduction of marsh plants as well as abiotic influence factors and intraspecific competition, HaMac allowed to systematically analyse the significance of factors and processes for the dynamic of tidal marsh vegetation. Our results show that rhizome growth is the most important process and that flow velocity, inundation height and duration as well as intraspecific competition are the most important habitat factors for explaining spatio-temporal dynamics of brackish marshes. Future applications of HaMac could support the sustainable development and stabilisation of shore zones and thus contribute to the promotion and planning of ecosystem-based shoreline protection measures.

AB - Tidal marsh vegetation offers important ecosystem services. However, in many estuaries, extensive embankments, artificial bank protection, river dredging and agriculture threaten tidal marshes. In this study we analysed the processes underlying the spatio-temporal patterns of tidal marsh vegetation in the Elbe estuary and quantified the influence of specific habitat factors by developing and applying the process-based dynamic habitat-macrophyte model HaMac in a pattern-oriented way. In order to develop and parameterise the model, we measured a wide range of biotic and abiotic parameters in two study sites in the Elbe estuary and compared observed and simulated patterns. The final model is able to reproduce the general patterns of vegetation zonation, development and growth and thus helps to understand the underlying processes. By considering the vegetative reproduction of marsh plants as well as abiotic influence factors and intraspecific competition, HaMac allowed to systematically analyse the significance of factors and processes for the dynamic of tidal marsh vegetation. Our results show that rhizome growth is the most important process and that flow velocity, inundation height and duration as well as intraspecific competition are the most important habitat factors for explaining spatio-temporal dynamics of brackish marshes. Future applications of HaMac could support the sustainable development and stabilisation of shore zones and thus contribute to the promotion and planning of ecosystem-based shoreline protection measures.

KW - Bolboschoenus maritimus

KW - Emergent macrophytes

KW - Pattern-oriented modelling

KW - Phragmites australis

KW - Tidal marsh vegetation

KW - Vegetative reproduction

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85029164052&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2017.08.023

DO - 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2017.08.023

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85029164052

VL - 363

SP - 122

EP - 136

JO - Ecological Modelling

JF - Ecological Modelling

SN - 0304-3800

ER -