Modelling lake phytoplankton communities: recent applications of the PROTECH model

Understanding and modelling the development of lake phytoplankton communities is a desirable goal, given the importance of these organisms to their ecosystem. PROTECH (Phytoplankton RespOnses To Environmental CHange) is one such model which attempts to do this and its applications over the last 10 years are reviewed here. These studies include: modelling very large lakes, linking catchment models to PROTECH, simulating oxygen concentrations, understanding the importance of nutrient source in moderating the influence of hydraulic retention time. Furthermore, the merits of ensemble lake modelling are considered, as are the limits of short term forecasting of blooms. Finally, climate change influences are examined with studies that include nutrient changes and an experiment that attempts to separate the influences of temperature and mixed depth.