Analysis of a model for banded vegetation patterns in semi-arid environments with nonlocal dispersal

Lukas Eigentler (Lead / Corresponding author), Jonathan A. Sherratt

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

37 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Vegetation patterns are a characteristic feature of semi-arid regions. On hillsides these patterns occur as stripes running parallel to the contours. The Klausmeier model, a coupled reaction–advection–diffusion system, is a deliberately simple model describing the phenomenon. In this paper, we replace the diffusion term describing plant dispersal by a more realistic nonlocal convolution integral to account for the possibility of long-range dispersal of seeds. Our analysis focuses on the rainfall level at which there is a transition between uniform vegetation and pattern formation. We obtain results, valid to leading order in the large parameter comparing the rate of water flow downhill to the rate of plant dispersal, for a negative exponential dispersal kernel. Our results indicate that both a wider dispersal of seeds and an increase in dispersal rate inhibit the formation of patterns. Assuming an evolutionary trade-off between these two quantities, mathematically motivated by the limiting behaviour of the convolution term, allows us to make comparisons to existing results for the original reaction–advection–diffusion system. These comparisons show that the nonlocal model always predicts a larger parameter region supporting pattern formation. We then numerically extend the results to other dispersal kernels, showing that the tendency to form patterns depends on the type of decay of the kernel.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)739-763
Number of pages25
JournalJournal of Mathematical Biology
Volume77
Issue number3
Early online date17 Apr 2018
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Sept 2018

Keywords

  • Integro-PDE model
  • Nonlocal dispersal
  • Pattern formation
  • Semi-arid landscapes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Modelling and Simulation
  • Agricultural and Biological Sciences (miscellaneous)
  • Applied Mathematics

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