A model of the seasonal dynamics of biomass and production of the seagrass Posidonia oceanica in the Bay of Calvi (Northwestern Mediterranean)

• Published in: Ecological modelling Vol. 167; no. 1; pp. 1 - 18
• Main Authors: Elkalay, Khalid, Frangoulis, Constantin, Skliris, Nikos, Goffart, Anne, Gobert, Sylvie, Lepoint, Gilles, Hecq, Jean-Henri
• Format: Journal Article Web Resource
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 01.09.2003; Elsevier; Elsevier Science Bv
• Subjects: Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Bay of Calvi; Biological and medical sciences; Biologie végétale (sciences végétales, sylviculture, mycologie...); Biomass; Corsica; Environmental sciences & ecology; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General aspects. Techniques; Growth model; Life sciences; Marine; Mediterranean Sea; Methods and techniques (sampling, tagging, trapping, modelling...); Phytobiology (plant sciences, forestry, mycology...); Posidonia oceanica; Production; Sciences de l’environnement & écologie; Sciences du vivant; Seagrass; Sensitivity; Shading effect; shading effect sensitivity; Ligurian Sea; France; Mediterranean Sea; Corsica; Europe; MED, Ligurian Sea; MED, France, Corse, Haute-Corse, Calvi; MED, Western Mediterranean; Shading effect; Bay of Calvi; Sensitivity; Growth model; Production; Seagrass; Posidonia oceanica; Biomass; Monocotyledones; Growth; Epiphyte; Environmental factor; Vegetation dynamics; Potamogetonaceae; Angiospermae; Spermatophyta; Models; Sea grass; Bay; Aquatic plant; Interspecific relation
• DOI: 10.1016/S0304-3800(03)00074-7
• ISSN: 0304-3800; 1872-7026

Modelling of seagrasses can be an effective tool to assess factors regulating their growth. Growth and production model of Posidonia oceanica, the dominant submerged aquatic macrophyte occurring in the Bay of Calvi (Corsica, Ligurian Sea, Northwestern (NW) Mediterranean) was developed. The state variables are the above- and below-ground biomass of P. oceanica, the epiphyte biomass, and the internal nitrogen concentration of the whole plant. Light intensity and water temperature are the forcing variables. The model reproduces successfully seasonal growth and production for each variable at various depths (10, 20 and 30 m). The model can simulate also a number of consecutive years. Sensitivity analysis of model’s parameters showed that the maximum nitrogen quota n max rate is the most sensitive parameter in this model. The results simulations imply that light intensity is one of the most important abiotic factors, the diminution of which can cause an important reduction in seagrass density.