Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Ecological Succession02:17

Ecological Succession

Ecological succession is influenced by the processes of facilitation, inhibition, and toleration. Facilitation occurs when early successional species create more favorable ecological conditions for subsequent species, such as enhanced nutrient, water, or light availability. In contrast, inhibition happens when early successional species create unfavorable ecological conditions for potential successive species, such as limiting resource availability. In some cases, later successional species...
Microbial Mats01:25

Microbial Mats

Microbial communities forming biofilms and mats represent complex, spatially structured ecosystems where metabolic processes are stratified according to light, oxygen, and nutrient gradients. Biofilms are initial colonization stages, only a few millimeters thick, while mature microbial mats can reach centimeter-scale thickness and display intricate vertical organization. Their structural and functional heterogeneity allows microorganisms to occupy distinct ecological niches within a few...
Freshwater Microbial Ecology01:24

Freshwater Microbial Ecology

Freshwater systems such as streams, rivers, and lakes exhibit distinct physical and biological characteristics that influence their microbial communities. These environments are broadly categorized into lotic systems—those with flowing waters like streams and most rivers—and lentic systems, which include still or slow-moving waters such as lakes, ponds, and marshes.In lentic systems, phytoplankton drive primary production, generating autochthonous organic carbon. In contrast, lotic systems...
Epiphytes, Parasites, and Carnivores02:40

Epiphytes, Parasites, and Carnivores

Plants often form mutualistic relationships with soil-dwelling fungi or bacteria to enhance their roots’ nutrient uptake ability. Root-colonizing fungi (e.g., mycorrhizae) increase a plant’s root surface area, which promotes nutrient absorption. While root-colonizing, nitrogen-fixing bacteria (e.g., rhizobia) convert atmospheric nitrogen (N2) into ammonia (NH3), making nitrogen available to plants for various biological functions. For example, nitrogen is essential for the biosynthesis of the...
The Soil Ecosystem02:23

The Soil Ecosystem

Plants obtain inorganic minerals and water from the soil, which acts as a natural medium for land plants. The composition and quality of soil depend not only on the chemical constituents but also on the presence of living organisms. In general, soils contain three major components:
Seedless Vascular Plants03:24

Seedless Vascular Plants

Seedless Vascular Plants Were the First Tall Plants on Earth

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Dispersal mode and spatial heterogeneity shape the interaction between adaptation and dispersal in multitrophic metacommunities.

Scientific reports·2026
Same author

Explaining the universality of biological thermal responses.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
Same author

Balancing land use for conservation, agriculture, and renewable energy.

Nature communications·2026
Same author

General laws of biodiversity: Climatic niches predict plant range size and ecological dominance globally.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2025
Same author

Hantavirus infections and small mammal diversity in Chile: No differences between protected and unprotected areas highlight the need for public health strategies.

PLoS neglected tropical diseases·2025
Same author

Information dynamics and the emergence of high-order individuality in ecosystems.

Communications biology·2025

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 13, 2026

A Simple Planting Technique for Re-establishing Trees Where Frequent Inundation Occurs
04:41

A Simple Planting Technique for Re-establishing Trees Where Frequent Inundation Occurs

Published on: January 26, 2018

Vegetation pattern formation in a fog-dependent ecosystem.

Ana I Borthagaray1, Miguel A Fuentes, Pablo A Marquet

  • 1Center for Advanced Studies in Ecology and Biodiversity and Departamento de Ecología, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Casilla 114-D, Santiago CP 6513677, Chile. borthagaray@gmail.com

Journal of Theoretical Biology
|April 27, 2010
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Vegetation patterns can form in arid deserts without rain, driven by fog and wind. This self-organization increases plant density, a key finding for understanding desert ecosystems.

More Related Videos

Mycorrhizal Maps as a Tool to Explore Colonization Patterns and Fungal Strategies in the Roots of Festuca rubra and Zea mays
08:28

Mycorrhizal Maps as a Tool to Explore Colonization Patterns and Fungal Strategies in the Roots of Festuca rubra and Zea mays

Published on: August 26, 2022

Measurements of CO2 Fluxes at Non-Ideal Eddy Covariance Sites
09:05

Measurements of CO2 Fluxes at Non-Ideal Eddy Covariance Sites

Published on: June 24, 2019

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 13, 2026

A Simple Planting Technique for Re-establishing Trees Where Frequent Inundation Occurs
04:41

A Simple Planting Technique for Re-establishing Trees Where Frequent Inundation Occurs

Published on: January 26, 2018

Mycorrhizal Maps as a Tool to Explore Colonization Patterns and Fungal Strategies in the Roots of Festuca rubra and Zea mays
08:28

Mycorrhizal Maps as a Tool to Explore Colonization Patterns and Fungal Strategies in the Roots of Festuca rubra and Zea mays

Published on: August 26, 2022

Measurements of CO2 Fluxes at Non-Ideal Eddy Covariance Sites
09:05

Measurements of CO2 Fluxes at Non-Ideal Eddy Covariance Sites

Published on: June 24, 2019

Area of Science:

  • Ecology
  • Arid Ecosystems
  • Pattern Formation

Background:

  • Vegetation patterns are common in water-limited ecosystems, typically explained by rainfall and local interactions.
  • Existing models focus on runoff-based systems, neglecting other water sources like fog.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate vegetation pattern formation in fog-based arid environments.
  • To model how fog-water advection and plant interception create vegetation patterns.

Main Methods:

  • Developed a simple model simulating fog-water advection by wind and interception by vegetation.
  • Compared model predictions with empirical patterns from the Coastal Atacama Desert.

Main Results:

  • The model successfully reproduced observed banded vegetation patterns.
  • Identified transitions from uniform to banded to desert states based on water input and slope.
  • Pattern wavelength is influenced by fog input, slope, plant loss, and fog flow speed.

Conclusions:

  • Fog-water advection and plant interception can drive vegetation pattern formation without rainfall.
  • Self-organization in arid ecosystems significantly enhances vegetation density.
  • The findings highlight the importance of fog as a water source in desert ecology.