Kenov, I.A.; Deus, R.; Alves, C.N., and Neves, R., 2013. Modelling seagrass biomass and relative nutrient content.

A generalized model was developed for the simulation of Zostera noltii dynamics by considering the plant's growth and decay in response to light, temperature, space availability, photoperiodicity, and dissolved nutrients in water and in sediment. Sensitivity analysis was carried out to establish the influence of model parameters on the overall results. It was found that the most sensitive parameters were those related to mortality, internal nutrient content, and translocation of carbon from leaves to roots. A preliminary calibration of the model was carried out to estimate parameters specific for Z. noltii. Afterward, the model was verified with experimental data of Z. noltii biomass. The verification results showed that the set of parameters found by calibration enabled the simulation of the Z. noltii biomass. The proposed model was used to simulate both nitrogen and phosphorus metabolism in the plant. The results of the simulations revealed that the plant was limited by nitrogen and phosphorus in the spring/summer and was less limited by nutrients in the winter. In the future, the model can be improved in terms of both description and parameterization of the processes.