Geology topics

H. L. Koh

Publications and source records attributed to H. L. Koh.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS2011

Spatial pattern formation of coastal vegetation in response to external gradients and positive feedbacks affecting soil porewater salinity: A model study

Coastal vegetation of South Florida typically comprises salinity-tolerant mangroves bordering salinity-intolerant hardwood hammocks and fresh water marshes. Two primary ecological factors appear to influence the maintenance of mangrove/hammock ecotones against changes that might occur due to disturbances. One of these is a gradient in one or more environmental factors. The other is the action of positive feedback mechanisms, in which each vegetation community influences its local environment to favor itself, reinforcing the boundary between communities. The relative contributions of these two factors, however, can be hard to discern. A spatially explicit individual-based model of vegetation, coupled with a model of soil hydrology and salinity dynamics is presented here to simulate mangrove/hammock ecotones in the coastal margin habitats of South Florida. The model simulation results indicate that an environmental gradient of salinity, caused by tidal flux, is the key factor separating vegetation communities, while positive feedback involving the different interaction of each vegetation type with the vadose zone salinity increases the sharpness of boundaries, and maintains the ecological resilience of mangrove/hammock ecotones against small disturbances. Investigation of effects of precipitation on positive feedback indicates that the dry season, with its low precipitation, is the period of strongest positive feedback.

Florida↗

USGS2008

A simulation model for projecting changes in salinity concentrations and species dominance in the coastal margin habitats of the Everglades

Sharp boundaries typically separate the salinity tolerant mangroves from the salinity intolerant hardwood hammock species, which occupy the similar geographical areas of southern Florida. Evidence of strong feedback between tree community-type and the salinity of the unsaturated (vadose) zone of the soil suggests that a severe disturbance that significantly tilts the salinity in the vadose zone might cause a shift from one vegetation type to the other. In this study, a model based upon the feedback dynamics between vegetation and salinity of the vadose zone of the soil was used to take account of storm surge events to investigate the mechanisms that by which this large-scale disturbance could affect the spatial pattern of hardwood hammocks and mangroves. Model simulation results indicated that a heavy storm surge that completely saturated the vadose zone at 30 ppt for 1 day could lead to a regime shift in which there is domination by mangroves of areas previously dominated by hardwood hammocks. Lighter storm surges that saturated the vadose zone at less than 7 ppt did not cause vegetation shifts. Investigations of model sensitivity analysis indicated that the thickness of the vadose zone, coupled with precipitation, influenced the residence time of high salinity in the vadose zone and therefore determined the rate of mangrove domination. The model was developed for a southern Florida coastal ecosystem, but its applicability may be much broader. ?? 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Ecological Modelling↗

USGS2002

Modeling fish community dynamics in Florida Everglades: Role of temperature variation

Temperature variation is an important factor in Everglade wetlands ecology. A temperature fluctuation from 17°C to 32°C recorded in the Everglades may have significant impact on fish dynamics. The short life cycles of some of Everglade fishes has rendered this temperature variation to have even more impacts on the ecosystem. Fish population dynamic models, which do not explicitly consider seasonal oscillations in temperature, may fail to describe the details of such a population. Hence, a model for fish in freshwater marshes of the Florida Everglades that explicitly incorporates seasonal temperature variations is developed. The model's main objective is to assess the temporal pattern of fish population and densities through time subject to temperature variations. Fish population is divided into 2 functional groups (FGs) consisting of small fishes; each group is subdivided into 5-day age classes during their life cycles. Many governing sub-modules are set directly or indirectly to be temperature dependent. Growth, fecundity, prey availability, consumption rates and mortality are examples. Several mortality sub-modules are introduced in the model, of which starvation mortality is set to be proportional to the ratio of prey needed to prey available at that particular time step. As part of the calibration process, the model is run for 50 years to ensure that fish densities do not go to extinction, while the simulation period is about 8 years. The model shows that the temperature dependent starvation mortality is an important factor that influences fish population densities. It also shows high fish population densities at some temperature ranges when this consumption need is minimum. Several sensitivity analyses involving variations in temperature terms, food resources and water levels are conducted to ascertain the relative importance of temperature dependence terms.

Water Science and Technology↗