Comptes Rendus
no. 11-12
A quantitative theory of vegetation patterns based on plant structure and the non-local F–KPP equation
René Lefever1 ; John W. Turner1
1 Faculté des sciences, C.P. 231, Université libre de Bruxelles, B-1050 Brussels, Belgium
Comptes Rendus. Mécanique, Out of Equilibrium Dynamics, Volume 340 (2012) no. 11-12, pp. 818-828.

The theory of vegetation patterns presented rests on two hypotheses: (i) the self-organization hypothesis that attributes their cause to interactions intrinsic to vegetation dynamics; (ii) the complementary self-assembly hypothesis that attributes their large spatial scale to the proximity of their dynamical conditions with a critical point. A non-local version of the F–KPP equation allows us to formulate these hypotheses in terms of individual plant properties. Both general and parsimonious, this formulation is strictly quantitative. It only relies on structural parameters that can be measured with precision in the field. Quantitative interpretation of observations and of the predictions provided by the theory is illustrated by an analysis of the periodic patterns found in some Sub-Sahelian regions.

Published online:
DOI: 10.1016/j.crme.2012.10.030
Keywords: Vegetation pattern, F–KPP equation, Vegetation dynamics

René Lefever 1; John W. Turner 1

1 Faculté des sciences, C.P. 231, Université libre de Bruxelles, B-1050 Brussels, Belgium 
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René Lefever; John W. Turner. A quantitative theory of vegetation patterns based on plant structure and the non-local F–KPP equation. Comptes Rendus. Mécanique, Out of Equilibrium Dynamics, Volume 340 (2012) no. 11-12, pp. 818-828. doi : 10.1016/j.crme.2012.10.030. https://comptes-rendus.academie-sciences.fr/mecanique/articles/10.1016/j.crme.2012.10.030/

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