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- Christopher A. Klausmeier
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108, USA.
抄録
<jats:p>Vegetation in many semiarid regions is strikingly patterned, forming regular stripes on hillsides and irregular mosaics on flat ground. A simple model of plant and water dynamics based on ecologically realistic assumptions and with reasonable parameter values captures both of these types of patterns. The regular patterns result from a Turing-like instability; the irregular patterns arise when the ecological dynamics amplify slight small-scale topographic variability. Because of the close agreement between observations and these theoretical results, this system provides a clear example of how nonlinear mechanisms can be important in determining the spatial structure of plant communities.</jats:p>
収録刊行物
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- Science
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Science 284 (5421), 1826-1828, 1999-06-11
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)