Biological and Soft Matter Physics Group
Mechanisms of Species Diversity Change in Stressed Environments
Ehud Meron
A transition from a banded vegetation pattern to a spotted pattern induced by a local clear-cut dis
The impacts of environmental changes on species diversity, and thus on ecosystem function and stability, is a central topic of current ecological research. At the landscape scale, where symmetry breaking vegetation patterns appear, a transition from one pattern state to another may take place (Animation). Using a mathematical modeling approach, we developed a theory of plant communities in water limited system, and are currently using it to highlight mechanisms of species diversity change in response to climate changes and disturbances.