Hydrology, biogeochemistry and metabolism in a semi-arid mediterranean coastal wetland ecosystem.

A LOICZ Budget Model is applied to the Ichkeul Lake, a wetland ecosystem of the South Mediterranean-North African region, to evaluate its functioning in order to boost water management. The Ichkeul Lake water and nutrient budget, net ecosystem metabolism (NEM), nutrient availability, and their seasonal changes are estimated using field data. A considerable anthropogenic-driven amount of nitrogen is transferred into N/NO to the atmosphere during the dry season with predominance of denitrification-anammox processes.