Development of an Integrated Biophysical Model to represent morphological and ecological processes in a changing deltaic and coastal ecosystem

Melissa M. Baustian*, Ehab Meselhe, Hoonshin Jung, Kazi Sadid, Scott M. Duke-Sylvester, Jenneke M. Visser, Mead A. Allison, Leland C. Moss, Cyndhia Ramatchandirane, Dirk Sebastiaan van Maren, Michelle Jeuken, Sibel Bargu

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

36 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Deltaic and coastal ecosystems are changing in response to natural and anthropogenic forces that require ecosystem-level restoration efforts to avoid habitat degradation or loss. Models that link ecosystem components of hydrodynamics, morphodynamics, nutrient and vegetation dynamics to represent essential processes and feedbacks are advancing the field of environmental modeling and are vital to inform coastal restoration decisions. An Integrated Biophysical Model was developed by creating a new vegetation dynamics component and linking it to other primary ecosystem components that included essential feedbacks. The model performance was evaluated by applying it to a deltaic ecosystem that included marshes and estuaries. The Integrated Biophysical Model output captured the general temporal and spatial environmental trends of key variables. This integrated model is capable to perform long-term simulations to assess responses of deltaic and coastal systems to global change scenarios and can be used to inform restoration strategies in ecosystems worldwide.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)402-419
Number of pages18
JournalEnvironmental Modelling and Software
Volume109
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Nov 2018

Keywords

  • Global change
  • Hydrodynamics
  • Morphodynamics
  • Numerical modeling
  • Nutrient dynamics
  • Vegetation dynamics

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Development of an Integrated Biophysical Model to represent morphological and ecological processes in a changing deltaic and coastal ecosystem'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this