Noise-induced vegetation patterns in fire-prone savannas

Paolo D'Odorico; Francisco Laio; Amilcare Porporato; Luca Ridolfi; Nicolas Barbier

doi:10.1029/2006JG000261

Noise-induced vegetation patterns in fire-prone savannas

Paolo D'Odorico, Francisco Laio, Amilcare Porporato, Luca Ridolfi, Nicolas Barbier

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

44 Scopus citations

Abstract

The high degree of spatial organization of dryland vegetation has been often explained invoking a number of different deterministic mechanisms without ever explicitly addressing the role of noise in the process of pattern formation. Noise is usually believed to act on ecosystems as a source of disorganized random fluctuations. However, noise is also known for its ability to induce ordered states in nonlinear systems. An alternative mechanism is here proposed, which explains vegetation pattern formation in mesic and subhumid savannas as the joint effect of fire randomness and fire-vegetation feedbacks. This mechanism is purely noise-induced and has no deterministic counterpart.

Original language	English (US)
Article number	G02021
Journal	Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences
Volume	112
Issue number	2
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1029/2006JG000261
State	Published - Jun 28 2007
Externally published	Yes

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

Condensed Matter Physics
Materials Chemistry
Polymers and Plastics
Physical and Theoretical Chemistry

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10.1029/2006JG000261

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AU - Laio, Francisco

AU - Porporato, Amilcare

AU - Ridolfi, Luca

AU - Barbier, Nicolas

PY - 2007/6/28

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AB - The high degree of spatial organization of dryland vegetation has been often explained invoking a number of different deterministic mechanisms without ever explicitly addressing the role of noise in the process of pattern formation. Noise is usually believed to act on ecosystems as a source of disorganized random fluctuations. However, noise is also known for its ability to induce ordered states in nonlinear systems. An alternative mechanism is here proposed, which explains vegetation pattern formation in mesic and subhumid savannas as the joint effect of fire randomness and fire-vegetation feedbacks. This mechanism is purely noise-induced and has no deterministic counterpart.

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Noise-induced vegetation patterns in fire-prone savannas

Abstract

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