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Tropical tree cover in a heterogeneous environment: A reaction-diffusion model.
Bert Wuyts1,2,3, Alan R Champneys3, Nicolas Verschueren1,3
1College of Engineering, Mathematics and Physical Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, United Kingdom.
Plos One
|June 28, 2019
Summary
Tropical forests can transition to savanna, but spatial dynamics create stable forest or savanna states. This study analyzes a model to understand the forest-savanna boundary under varying rainfall and human impact.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Mathematical modeling
- Climate change impacts
Background:
- Tropical ecosystems exhibit bimodal tree cover, suggesting alternative stable states like forest or savanna.
- Previous nonspatial models indicated only one stable state, contradicting observed bimodality.
- Spatial interactions are crucial for understanding landscape-level vegetation dynamics.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analytically and numerically analyze a reaction-diffusion model of Amazonian tree cover.
- To investigate the factors influencing the forest-savanna boundary and bistability.
- To explain observed bimodal tree cover distributions using a refined model.
Main Methods:
- Derivation of the Maxwell point (MP) for the homogeneous reaction-diffusion equation.
- Analysis of the forest-nonforest front's stability based on rainfall and human impact.
- Numerical simulations to explore forest-savanna cycles and woodland-savanna bistability.
Main Results:
- The forest-savanna front stabilizes at the Maxwell point under specific conditions.
- Sufficiently low savanna tree cover near the front is essential for this stability.
- Higher savanna tree cover can lead to irregular forest-savanna cycles and woodland-savanna bistability.
Conclusions:
- The refined reaction-diffusion model explains observed bimodal tree cover distributions.
- Rainfall and human impact are key drivers of forest-savanna dynamics.
- The model highlights the importance of spatial interactions and savanna tree cover in maintaining ecosystem stability.
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