Vegetation Organization in Semiarid Ecosystems
Semiarid and desert ecosystems are characterized by patchy and dynamic vegetation. Topography plays a commanding role on vegetation patterns. Plant biomes and biodiversity vary systematically with slope and aspect, from shrublands in low desert elevations, to mixed grass/shrublands in mid elevations, and forests at high elevations. We investigate the role of elevation dependent climatology and aspect on vegetation organization in semiarid catchments where elevation and hillslope aspect play a defining role on plant types. We use observational and satellite-based data and numerical modeling. We developed the Cellular Automaton Tree Grass Simulator CATGraSS [Zhou et al., 2013], an ecohydrologic cellular automaton model, now implemented in Landlab. The model couples local vegetation dynamics (that simulate biomass production based on local soil moisture and evapotranspiration) and plant establishment and mortality based on competition for resources and space. This model is driven by elevation dependent rainfall pulses and solar radiation. We use Landlab to investigate the encroachment of woody plants and invasive species in grasslands of the Southwest and Sage brush ecosystems of the North West.
Hobley, D. E. J., Adams, J. M., Nudurupati, S. S., Hutton, E. W. H., Gasparini, N. M., Istanbulluoglu, E., and Tucker, G. E. (2017): Creative computing with Landlab: an open-source toolkit for building, coupling, and exploring two-dimensional numerical models of Earth-surface dynamics, Earth Surf. Dynam. doi:10.5194/esurf-5-21-2017.
Nudurupati, S. S., Istanbulluoglu, E., Tucker, G. E., Gasparini, N. M., Hobley, D. E. J., Hutton, E. W. H., et al. (2023). On transient semi-arid ecosystem dynamics using Landlab: Vegetation shifts, topographic refugia, and response to climate. Water Resources Research, 59, e2021WR031179. https://doi.org/10.1029/2021WR031179
Semiarid and desert ecosystems are characterized by patchy and dynamic vegetation. Topography plays a commanding role on vegetation patterns. Plant biomes and biodiversity vary systematically with slope and aspect, from shrublands in low desert elevations, to mixed grass/shrublands in mid elevations, and forests at high elevations. We investigate the role of elevation dependent climatology and aspect on vegetation organization in semiarid catchments where elevation and hillslope aspect play a defining role on plant types. We use observational and satellite-based data and numerical modeling. We developed the Cellular Automaton Tree Grass Simulator CATGraSS [Zhou et al., 2013], an ecohydrologic cellular automaton model, now implemented in Landlab. The model couples local vegetation dynamics (that simulate biomass production based on local soil moisture and evapotranspiration) and plant establishment and mortality based on competition for resources and space. This model is driven by elevation dependent rainfall pulses and solar radiation. We use Landlab to investigate the encroachment of woody plants and invasive species in grasslands of the Southwest and Sage brush ecosystems of the North West.
Hobley, D. E. J., Adams, J. M., Nudurupati, S. S., Hutton, E. W. H., Gasparini, N. M., Istanbulluoglu, E., and Tucker, G. E. (2017): Creative computing with Landlab: an open-source toolkit for building, coupling, and exploring two-dimensional numerical models of Earth-surface dynamics, Earth Surf. Dynam. doi:10.5194/esurf-5-21-2017.
Nudurupati, S. S., Istanbulluoglu, E., Tucker, G. E., Gasparini, N. M., Hobley, D. E. J., Hutton, E. W. H., et al. (2023). On transient semi-arid ecosystem dynamics using Landlab: Vegetation shifts, topographic refugia, and response to climate. Water Resources Research, 59, e2021WR031179. https://doi.org/10.1029/2021WR031179
Caracciolo, D., Istanbulluoglu E, and L.V. Noto (2017). An ecohydrological cellular automaton model investigation of juniper pine tree encroachment in a western North America landscape. Ecosystems, doi:10.1007/s10021-016-0096-6.
