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Science 11 June 1999:
Vol. 284. no. 5421, pp. 1826 - 1828
DOI: 10.1126/science.284.5421.1826
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Reports

Regular and Irregular Patterns in Semiarid Vegetation

Christopher A. Klausmeier

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.

Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108, USA. E-mail: klaus{at}biosci.umn.edu

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