Our research team gave a webinar in the Great Lakes Commission series this week (dated July 25, 2018).  The Great Lakes Commission hosts a webinar series on the management of invasive Phragmites in Great Lakes wetlands.

Title:  A primer on the user-friendly Mondrian model for wetland ecology and invasive species management

Presented by:

Dr. Bill Currie – University of Michigan
Dr. Jason Martina – Texas A & M University
Dr. Kenneth Elgersma – University of Northern Iowa

Description:

The Mondrian model was developed as a research tool to study community-ecosystem processes in Great Lakes coastal wetlands and has been used to increase our understanding of the ecology of wetland plant invasions as related to nutrient cycling and plant competition. It is also currently being used in an adaptive management framework to simulate management practices to remove invasive plants and restore native vegetation. It is a powerful model that was designed to be applied to a range of research questions related to ecology, nutrient cycling, carbon storage, hydroperiod, and management. A user-friendly version is available along with a 70-page user guide. In this webinar the model development team will introduce the model and demonstrate the mechanics of how to alter parameter values in the input files and how to interpret the results.

Topics covered in the webinar:

• Introduction to Mondrian model for both basic science and applied questions
• Basic plant ecology and biogeochemistry in the model
• Introduce the online quick-reference tool
• Show how to obtain full Mondrian model + user guide and how to organize and use input files
• Show how user can change model parameters
• Show how to interpret output files
• More specifics on using Mondrian to simulate management for invasives, including Phragmites

This webinar was recorded so it can be accessed by wetland managers.  We will also use the recorded webinar as a training tool for researchers and students interested in using Mondrian.  The recorded webinar will be uploaded to the GLC website.  When the link is available we will post it here.

Acknowledgments:

A sincere thank you to Elaine Ferrier ar the GLC for organizing the webinar.  The development of the user-friendly version of Mondrian for use by wetland managers was funded, in part, by the EPA Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, grant# IS15-5004.