Interactions between Fragmented Seagrass Canopies and the Local Hydrodynamics
dc.contributor.author
dc.date.accessioned
2017-02-08T10:48:09Z
dc.date.available
2017-02-08T10:48:09Z
dc.date.issued
2016-05-26
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dc.description.abstract
The systematic creation of gaps within canopies results in fragmentation and the architecture of fragmented canopies differs substantially from non-fragmented canopies. Canopy fragmentation leads to spatial heterogeneity in hydrodynamics and therefore heterogeneity in the sheltering of canopy communities. Identifying the level of instability due to canopy fragmentation is important for canopies in coastal areas impacted by human activities and indeed, climate change. The gap orientation relative to the wave direction is expected to play an important role in determining wave attenuation and sheltering. Initially we investigated the effect of a single transversal gap within a canopy (i.e. a gap oriented perpendicular to the wave direction) on hydrodynamics, which was compared to fully vegetated canopies (i.e. no gaps) and also to bare sediment. The wave velocity increased with gap width for the two canopy densities studied (2.5% and 10% solid plant fraction) reaching wave velocities found over bare sediments. The turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) within the gap also increased, but was more attenuated by the adjacent vegetation than the wave velocity. As expected, denser canopies produced a greater attenuation of both the wave velocity and the turbulent kinetic energy within an adjacent gap, compared to sparse canopies. Using non-dimensional analysis and our experimental data, a parameterization for predicting TKE in a canopy gap was formulated, as a function of easily measured variables. Based on the experimental results, a fragmented canopy model was then developed to determine the overall mixing level in such canopies. The model revealed that canopies with large gaps present more mixing than canopies with small gaps despite having the same total gap area in the canopy. Furthermore, for the same total gap area, dense fragmented canopies provide more shelter than sparse fragmented canopies
dc.description.sponsorship
This work was supported by Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación of the Spanish Government through grant CGL2010-17289
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application/pdf
dc.language.iso
eng
dc.publisher
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
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info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/MICINN//CGL2010-17289/ES/PATRONES ESPACIALES Y TEMPORALES EN HUMEDALES/
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Reproducció digital del document publicat a: http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0156264
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PLoS ONE, 2016, vol. 11, núm. 5, p. e0156264
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Articles publicats (D-F)
dc.rights
Attribution 3.0 Spain
dc.rights.uri
dc.subject
dc.title
Interactions between Fragmented Seagrass Canopies and the Local Hydrodynamics
dc.type
info:eu-repo/semantics/article
dc.rights.accessRights
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.embargo.terms
Cap
dc.type.version
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
dc.identifier.doi
dc.identifier.idgrec
026079
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dc.relation.ProjectAcronym
dc.identifier.eissn
1932-6203