Using problems from spatial ecology, this book shows how pattern formation theory can be applied to ecological research. Written in language understandable to most physicists and ecologists, it reveals the mechanisms of pattern formation and pattern dynamics. The book explores the implications of these mechanisms in important ecological problems, including self-organized vegetation patchiness, desertification, and biodiversity in changing environments. It also discusses recent developments, such as pattern-forming systems subjected to external periodic forcing, not covered in similar books.
Using problems from spatial ecology, this book shows how pattern formation theory can be applied to ecological research. Written in language understandable to most physicists and ecologists, it reveals the mechanisms of pattern formation and pattern dynamics. The book explores the implications of these mechanisms in important ecological problems, including self-organized vegetation patchiness, desertification, and biodiversity in changing environments. It also discusses recent developments, such as pattern-forming systems subjected to external periodic forcing, not covered in similar books.Hinweis: Dieser Artikel kann nur an eine deutsche Lieferadresse ausgeliefert werden.
Ehud Meron is a professor of physics in the Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research and the Physics Department at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. His research interests include nonlinear dynamics and pattern formation theory with applications to fluid dynamics and chemical reactions, modeling complex systems, and spatial ecology with a focus on desertification and biodiversity dynamics. Professor Meron's recent work has involved collaborating with ecologists in an effort to assimilate the concepts of pattern-formation theory into ecological research.
Inhaltsangabe
Introduction. OVERVIEW: Spatial Self-Organization. Spatial Ecology. Modeling Ecosystems. PATTERN FORMATION THEORY: Pattern Formation Analysis: Basic Methods. Pattern Formation Analysis: Advanced Methods. Basic Mechanisms of Pattern Formation. External Modulations of Pattern Forming Systems. APPLICATIONS TO ECOLOGY: Modeling Water-Limited Vegetation. Vegetation Pattern Formation. Regime Shifts and Desertification. Species Coexistence and Diversity in Plant Communities. Bibliography. Index.