2025 CSDMS meeting-109
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An open-source approach for modeling dynamic vegetation processes in coastal environments
Nelson Tull,
(he/him),Louisiana State University Baton Rouge Louisiana, United States. nelsontull25@gmail.com
Muriel Brückner, Louisiana State University Baton Rouge Louisiana, United States.
Hydrodynamic models that include a morphology component, such as Delft3D, are used widely for understanding the evolution of coastal systems, and they inform strategies for coastal protection and ecosystem preservation. Vegetation growth is often an important factor in coastal morphology, and even though some models may include vegetation via a roughness parameter, they do not have built-in capabilities for modeling dynamic vegetation processes. In recent years, a number of biophysical models with coupled dynamic vegetation processes have been developed, but few are open-source and compatible with non-proprietary software, hindering community development. This work presents a simple, open-source Python model that has been coupled dynamically with Delft3D FM to represent colonization, growth, and mortality of multiple species of vegetation in coastal environments. The model includes detailed vegetation processes with colonization and mortality as functions of hydromorphodynamic conditions and species-specific growth curves, resulting in spatial and temporal updates of friction effects in Delft3D FM. The code is designed to prioritize accessibility for all user levels and allow for smooth implementation of additional structures and processes. We present validation of the vegetation cover and density as compared to field data and highlight key differences between various techniques for converting vegetation stem heights to roughness parameters in the hydromorphodynamic model.
