Mathematically, PCLake is composed of a set of coupled differential equations. With a large number of state variables (>100) and parameters (>300), the model may be characterized as relatively complex. The main biotic variables are phytoplankton and submerged aquatic vegetation, describing primary production. A simplified food web is made up of zooplankton, zoobenthos, young and adult whitefish and piscivorous fish. The main abiotic factors are transparency and the nutrients phosphorus (P), nitrogen (N) and silica (Si). At the base of the model are the water and nutrient budgets (in- and outflow). The model describes a completely mixed water body and comprises both the water column and the upper sediment layer. The overall nutrient cycles for N, P and Si are described as completely closed (except for in- and outflow and denitrification). Inputs to the model are: lake hydrology, nutrient loading, dimensions and sediment characteristics. The model calculates chlorophyll-a, transparency, cyanobacteria, vegetation cover and fish biomass, as well as the concentrations and fluxes of nutrients N, P and Si, and oxygen. Optionally, a wetland zone with marsh vegetation and water exchange with the lake can be included.
PCLake is calibrated against nutrient, transparency, chlorophyll and vegetation data on more than 40 European (but mainly Dutch) lakes, and systematic sensitivity and uncertainty analysis have been performed.
Although PCLake is primarily used for Dutch lakes, it is likely that the model is also applicable to comparable non-stratifying lakes in other regions, if parameters are adjusted or some small changes to the model are made.