Pattern-formation theory predicts that vegetation gap patterns,
such as the fairy circles of Namibia, emerge through the action of pattern-forming biomass-water feedbacks and that such patterns should be found elsewhere in water-limited systems
around the world.We report here the exciting discovery of fairycircle patterns in the remote outback of Australia. Using fieldwork, remote sensing, spatial pattern analysis, mathematical modeling, and pattern-formation theory we show that the Australian gap patterns share with their Namibian counterparts the same characteristics but are driven by a different biomass–water feedback. These observations are in line with a central universality principle of pattern-formation theory and support the applicability of this theory to wider contexts of spatial self-organization in ecology.
Read more in:
Getzin S., ... , Meron E., Discovery of fairy circles in Australia supports self-organization theory,
PNAS 2016
