Abstract
In this study, a coupled three-dimensional hydrodynamic-ecological model was developed to comprehensively understand the interaction between the hydrodynamics and ecological status of a lake. The coupled model was utilized to explore the hydrodynamics, water quality, and ecological status in an ecologically rich subalpine lake (i.e., Tsuei-Feng Lake (TFL), located in north-central Taiwan). The measured data of water depth, water temperature, water quality, and planktonic biomass were gathered to validate the coupled model. The simulated results with a three-dimensional hydrodynamic and water quality-ecological model reasonably reproduced the variations in observed water depth, water temperature, water quality, and phytoplankton and zooplankton biomass. Sensitivity analysis was implemented to determine the most influential parameter affecting the planktonic biomass. The results of sensitivity analysis indicated that the predation rate on phytoplankton (PRP) significantly affects the phytoplankton biomass, while the basal metabolism rate of zooplankton (BMZ) importantly affects the zooplankton biomass. Furthermore, inflow discharge was the most important environmental factor dominating the phytoplankton and zooplankton biomass of TFL. This implies that the runoff in the catchment area caused by rainfall and the heavy rainfall induced by climate change may affect the planktonic biomass of the lake.
Highlights
IntroductionPublisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations
The objective of this study was to develop a three-dimensional hydrodynamic-ecological coupled model (SCHISMEcol) to simulate the hydrodynamics, water quality, and biomass of phytoplankton, zooplankton, and fish in Tsuei-Feng Lake (TFL), which is located in the north-central mountains of Taiwan
The validated model was utilized to implement sensitivity analysis to explore how the parameters adopted in the planktonic module affected phytoplankton and zooplankton biomass
Summary
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Freshwater lakes provide important and valuable resources such as water supply, environmental and ecological services, recreation, and landscape appreciation. Due to rapid economic development, population expansion, and land cultivation, watershed areas have been overly developed, resulting in excessive nutrient input into lakes during rainfall, causing serious damage to water quality and eutrophication and even resulting in an imbalance of ecosystems. Reducing external nutrient loads into lakes to prevent deterioration of water quality and eutrophication for sustainable lake management has become an extremely important task [1,2,3,4,5,6]
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