IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/ecomod/v306y2015icp326-333.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

An open-source spatio-dynamic wetland model of plant community responses to hydrological pressures

Author

Listed:
  • Martínez-López, Javier
  • Martínez-Fernández, Julia
  • Naimi, Babak
  • Carreño, María F.
  • Esteve, Miguel A.

Abstract

Semiarid Mediterranean saline wetlands are semi-terrestrial ecosystems, which yearly undergo dry periods of several months, and shelter a rich, endemic and sensitive biota. In the last decades, the expansion of agricultural irrigated areas in semiarid Mediterranean catchments has led to altered inputs of water and nutrients to lowland wetlands. Hydrological alterations have affected characteristic plant communities, resulting in the replacement of valuable halophilic salt marsh and salt steppe plant communities by more generalist and opportunistic taxa, such as Phragmites australis (reed beds). A spatio-dynamic model and library were developed that aimed to explain the spatial distribution of three characteristic wetland plant communities in a semiarid Mediterranean wetland site in response to hydrological pressures from the catchment. Wetland plant communities and watershed irrigated agricultural areas were mapped by means of remote sensing at several dates between 1984 and 2008 and were partly used as forcing inputs and validation data. A dynamic model was initially developed using Stella software and then converted into R language by means of the StellaR software. Spatial dimension was added including neighbourhood and spatial flow algorithms representing the dispersion of plant communities. The conversion between plant communities was caused by the increase in water inflows from the watershed, mediated by spatial parameters, such as the distance to ephemeral rivers and the flow accumulation map within the wetland site. Results of the model were in agreement with remote sensing data, showing that in 2008 salt steppe had lost a half of its original area, whereas salt marsh and reed beds expanded extensively. The model developed in this study is available online as an R library, including all necessary input data sets and maps and documentation to run it. The model library offers a flexible tool that suits the needs of both advanced modellers and neophytes. Free and open source software and online code sharing repositories are proposed as modelling tools for future research.

Suggested Citation

  • Martínez-López, Javier & Martínez-Fernández, Julia & Naimi, Babak & Carreño, María F. & Esteve, Miguel A., 2015. "An open-source spatio-dynamic wetland model of plant community responses to hydrological pressures," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 306(C), pages 326-333.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecomod:v:306:y:2015:i:c:p:326-333
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2014.11.024
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304380014005973
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2014.11.024?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Turner, R. Kerry & van den Bergh, Jeroen C. J. M. & Soderqvist, Tore & Barendregt, Aat & van der Straaten, Jan & Maltby, Edward & van Ierland, Ekko C., 2000. "Ecological-economic analysis of wetlands: scientific integration for management and policy," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 35(1), pages 7-23, October.
    2. Grimm, Volker & Augusiak, Jacqueline & Focks, Andreas & Frank, Béatrice M. & Gabsi, Faten & Johnston, Alice S.A. & Liu, Chun & Martin, Benjamin T. & Meli, Mattia & Radchuk, Viktoriia & Thorbek, Pernil, 2014. "Towards better modelling and decision support: Documenting model development, testing, and analysis using TRACE," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 280(C), pages 129-139.
    3. Zhou, Demin & Gong, Huili & Liu, Zhaoli, 2008. "Integrated ecological assessment of biophysical wetland habitat in water catchments: Linking hydro-ecological modelling with geo-information techniques," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 214(2), pages 411-420.
    4. Petzoldt, Thomas & Rinke, Karsten, 2007. "simecol: An Object-Oriented Framework for Ecological Modeling in R," Journal of Statistical Software, Foundation for Open Access Statistics, vol. 22(i09).
    5. Soetaert, Karline & Petzoldt, Thomas & Setzer, R. Woodrow, 2010. "Solving Differential Equations in R: Package deSolve," Journal of Statistical Software, Foundation for Open Access Statistics, vol. 33(i09).
    6. Augusiak, Jacqueline & Van den Brink, Paul J. & Grimm, Volker, 2014. "Merging validation and evaluation of ecological models to ‘evaludation’: A review of terminology and a practical approach," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 280(C), pages 117-128.
    7. Pebesma, Edzer, 2012. "spacetime: Spatio-Temporal Data in R," Journal of Statistical Software, Foundation for Open Access Statistics, vol. 51(i07).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Lorscheid, Iris & Meyer, Matthias, 2016. "Divide and conquer: Configuring submodels for valid and efficient analyses of complex simulation models," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 326(C), pages 152-161.
    2. Watson, Joseph W & Boyd, Robin & Dutta, Ritabrata & Vasdekis, Georgios & Walker, Nicola D. & Roy, Shovonlal & Everitt, Richard & Hyder, Kieran & Sibly, Richard M, 2022. "Incorporating environmental variability in a spatially-explicit individual-based model of European sea bass✰," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 466(C).
    3. Grimm, Volker & Berger, Uta, 2016. "Structural realism, emergence, and predictions in next-generation ecological modelling: Synthesis from a special issue," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 326(C), pages 177-187.
    4. Boult, Victoria L. & Quaife, Tristan & Fishlock, Vicki & Moss, Cynthia J. & Lee, Phyllis C. & Sibly, Richard M., 2018. "Individual-based modelling of elephant population dynamics using remote sensing to estimate food availability," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 387(C), pages 187-195.
    5. Ayllón, Daniel & Railsback, Steven F. & Vincenzi, Simone & Groeneveld, Jürgen & Almodóvar, Ana & Grimm, Volker, 2016. "InSTREAM-Gen: Modelling eco-evolutionary dynamics of trout populations under anthropogenic environmental change," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 326(C), pages 36-53.
    6. Fitts, Lucia A. & Fraser, Jacob S. & Miranda, Brian R. & Domke, Grant M. & Russell, Matthew B. & Sturtevant, Brian R., 2023. "An iterative site-scale approach to calibrate and corroborate successional processes within a forest landscape model," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 477(C).
    7. Erickson, Richard A. & Eager, Eric A. & Brey, Marybeth K. & Hansen, Michael J. & Kocovsky, Patrick M., 2017. "An integral projection model with YY-males and application to evaluating grass carp control," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 361(C), pages 14-25.
    8. Lamonica, Dominique & Herbach, Ulysse & Orias, Frédéric & Clément, Bernard & Charles, Sandrine & Lopes, Christelle, 2016. "Mechanistic modelling of daphnid-algae dynamics within a laboratory microcosm," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 320(C), pages 213-230.
    9. Boyd, Robin & Roy, Shovonlal & Sibly, Richard & Thorpe, Robert & Hyder, Kieran, 2018. "A general approach to incorporating spatial and temporal variation in individual-based models of fish populations with application to Atlantic mackerel," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 382(C), pages 9-17.
    10. Crouse, Kristin N. & Desai, Nisarg P. & Cassidy, Kira A. & Stahler, Erin E. & Lehman, Clarence L. & Wilson, Michael L., 2022. "Larger territories reduce mortality risk for chimpanzees, wolves, and agents: Multiple lines of evidence in a model validation framework," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 471(C).
    11. Troost, Christian & Huber, Robert & Bell, Andrew R. & van Delden, Hedwig & Filatova, Tatiana & Le, Quang Bao & Lippe, Melvin & Niamir, Leila & Polhill, J. Gareth & Sun, Zhanli & Berger, Thomas, 2023. "How to keep it adequate: A protocol for ensuring validity in agent-based simulation," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 159, pages 1-21.
    12. An, Li & Grimm, Volker & Sullivan, Abigail & Turner II, B.L. & Malleson, Nicolas & Heppenstall, Alison & Vincenot, Christian & Robinson, Derek & Ye, Xinyue & Liu, Jianguo & Lindkvist, Emilie & Tang, W, 2021. "Challenges, tasks, and opportunities in modeling agent-based complex systems," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 457(C).
    13. King, Elizabeth G. & Franz, Trenton E., 2016. "Combining ecohydrologic and transition probability-based modeling to simulate vegetation dynamics in a semi-arid rangeland," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 329(C), pages 41-63.
    14. Courbaud, B. & Lafond, V. & Lagarrigues, G. & Vieilledent, G. & Cordonnier, T. & Jabot, F. & de Coligny, F., 2015. "Applying ecological model evaludation: Lessons learned with the forest dynamics model Samsara2," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 314(C), pages 1-14.
    15. Guus ten Broeke & Hilde Tobi, 2021. "Mapping validity and validation in modelling for interdisciplinary research," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 55(5), pages 1613-1630, October.
    16. Lapp, Maya & Long, Colby, 2022. "A new approach to agent-based models of Community Resource Management based on the analysis of cheating, monitoring, and sanctioning," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 468(C).
    17. Planque, Benjamin & Aarflot, Johanna M. & Buttay, Lucie & Carroll, JoLynn & Fransner, Filippa & Hansen, Cecilie & Husson, Bérengère & Langangen, Øystein & Lindstrøm, Ulf & Pedersen, Torstein & Primice, 2022. "A standard protocol for describing the evaluation of ecological models," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 471(C).
    18. Cartwright, Samantha J. & Bowgen, Katharine M. & Collop, Catherine & Hyder, Kieran & Nabe-Nielsen, Jacob & Stafford, Richard & Stillman, Richard A. & Thorpe, Robert B. & Sibly, Richard M., 2016. "Communicating complex ecological models to non-scientist end users," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 338(C), pages 51-59.
    19. Erickson, Richard A. & Eager, Eric A. & Kocovsky, Patrick M. & Glover, David C. & Kallis, Jahn L. & Long, K.R., 2018. "A spatially discrete, integral projection model and its application to invasive carp," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 387(C), pages 163-171.
    20. Schmolke, Amelie & Bartell, Steven M. & Roy, Colleen & Green, Nicholas & Galic, Nika & Brain, Richard, 2019. "Species-specific population dynamics and their link to an aquatic food web: A hybrid modeling approach," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 405(C), pages 1-14.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:ecomod:v:306:y:2015:i:c:p:326-333. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/ecological-modelling .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.