TY - JOUR

T1 - What is a macrophyte patch?

T2 - Patch identification in aquatic ecosystems and guidelines for consistent delineation

AU - Schoelynck, Jonas

AU - Creëlle, Stéphan

AU - Buis, Kerst

AU - De Mulder, Tom

AU - Emsens, Willem-Jan

AU - Hein, Thomas

AU - Meire, Dieter

AU - Meire, Patrick

AU - Okruszko, Tomasz

AU - Preiner, Stefan

AU - Roldan Gonzalez, Rebeca

AU - Silinski, Alexandra

AU - Temmerman, Stijn

AU - Troch, Peter

AU - Van Oyen, Tomas

AU - Verschoren, Veerle

AU - Visser, Fleur

AU - Wang, Chen

AU - Wolters, Jan-Willem

AU - Folkard, Andrew

N1 - This is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in Ecohydrology & Hydrobiology. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in Ecohydrology & Hydrobiology, 18, 1, 2018 DOI: 10.1016/j.ecohyd.2017.10.005

PY - 2018/1

Y1 - 2018/1

N2 - Patches are of central interest to many areas of environmental science because they provide a lower limit of structural detail in synoptic studies, and an upper limit of contextual structure for point measurement-based studies. Identification and delineation of macrophyte patches however, is often arbitrary and case-specific. In this paper we propose a widely-applicable set of guidelines for delineating a “patch” and “patch matrix” – the latter implying a collection of interacting patches – which could standardise future research. To support this proposal, we examine examples from eco-hydrological studies, focusing on interactions between plants, water flow, sediment, and invertebrates. We discuss three aspects that are key to the delineation of a patch: (1) constitution (variable(s) whose values define the patch), (2) spatial properties (patch boundaries), and (3) distinction (of isolated single patches from multiple separate-but-interacting patches). The discussion of these aspects results in guidelines for identifying and delineating a patch which is applicable to any aquatic habitat, and covers a broad range of disciplines such as plant and animal ecology, biogeochemistry, hydraulics, and sedimentology.

AB - Patches are of central interest to many areas of environmental science because they provide a lower limit of structural detail in synoptic studies, and an upper limit of contextual structure for point measurement-based studies. Identification and delineation of macrophyte patches however, is often arbitrary and case-specific. In this paper we propose a widely-applicable set of guidelines for delineating a “patch” and “patch matrix” – the latter implying a collection of interacting patches – which could standardise future research. To support this proposal, we examine examples from eco-hydrological studies, focusing on interactions between plants, water flow, sediment, and invertebrates. We discuss three aspects that are key to the delineation of a patch: (1) constitution (variable(s) whose values define the patch), (2) spatial properties (patch boundaries), and (3) distinction (of isolated single patches from multiple separate-but-interacting patches). The discussion of these aspects results in guidelines for identifying and delineating a patch which is applicable to any aquatic habitat, and covers a broad range of disciplines such as plant and animal ecology, biogeochemistry, hydraulics, and sedimentology.

KW - Landscape ecology

KW - Pattern identification

KW - Plant-flow interaction

KW - Spatial scales

KW - Ecohydrology

KW - Macrophytes

U2 - 10.1016/j.ecohyd.2017.10.005

DO - 10.1016/j.ecohyd.2017.10.005

M3 - Journal article

VL - 18

SP - 1

EP - 9

JO - Ecohydrology & Hydrobiology

JF - Ecohydrology & Hydrobiology

SN - 1642-3593

IS - 1

ER -