School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia.
The UWA Oceans Institute, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia.
Ann Bot. 2018 Apr 18;121(5):897-908. doi: 10.1093/aob/mcx156.
Ephemeral seagrasses that respond rapidly to environmental changes are important marine habitats. However, they are under threat due to human activity and are logistically difficult and expensive to study. This study aimed to develop a new functional-structural environmentally dependent model of ephemeral seagrass, able to integrate our understanding of ephemeral seagrass growth dynamics and assess options for potential management interventions, such as seagrass transplantation.
A functional-structural plant model was developed in which growth and senescence rates are mechanistically linked to environmental variables. The model was parameterized and validated for a population of Halophila stipulacea in the Persian Gulf.
There was a good match between empirical and simulated results for the number of apices, net rhizome length or net number of internodes using a 330 d simulation. Simulated data were more variable than empirical data. Simulated structural patterns of seagrass rhizome growth qualitatively matched empirical observations.
This new model successfully simulates the environmentally dependent growth and senescence rates of our case-study ephemeral seagrass species. It produces numerical and visual outputs that help synthesize our understanding of how the influence of environmental variables on plant functional processes affects overall growth patterns. The model can also be used to assess the potential outcomes of management interventions like seagrass transplantation, thus providing a useful management tool. It is freely available and easily adapted for new species and locations, although validation with more species and environments is required.
对环境变化快速响应的短暂性海草是重要的海洋栖息地。然而，由于人类活动的威胁，它们的生存受到了威胁，而且在物流上研究起来既困难又昂贵。本研究旨在开发一种新的短暂性海草功能结构环境依赖模型，该模型能够整合我们对短暂性海草生长动态的理解，并评估潜在的管理干预措施的选择，如海草移植。
开发了一种功能结构植物模型，其中生长和衰老率与环境变量在机制上相关联。该模型针对波斯湾的 Halophila stipulacea 种群进行了参数化和验证。
在 330 天的模拟中，使用模拟的方法可以很好地匹配顶点数量、净根茎长度或净节间数量的经验数据。模拟数据比经验数据更具变异性。模拟的海草根茎生长结构模式在定性上与经验观察结果相匹配。
这个新模型成功地模拟了我们案例研究中的短暂性海草物种的环境依赖生长和衰老率。它产生的数值和可视化输出有助于综合我们对环境变量对植物功能过程的影响如何影响整体生长模式的理解。该模型还可以用于评估海草移植等管理干预措施的潜在结果，从而提供一个有用的管理工具。它是免费提供的，并且易于适应新的物种和地点，尽管还需要更多的物种和环境进行验证。
