A recipe for desert : analysis of an extended Klausmeier model

Siero, E.P.J.A. (2016)

Doctoral Thesis

In drylands, water is a crucial ingredient for the sustenance of vegetation. Due to climate change, dry areas are projected to become dryer, which puts the vegetation under increasing environmental pressure. If environmental conditions deteriorate, the amount of vegetation may become critical, beyond which the vegetation suddenly disappears. We study a phenomenological model - the extended Klausmeier model - which models the interaction between water and vegetation in drylands. In this spatially explicit model, due to drought, homogeneous vegetation transforms into a spatial pattern. We study different scenarios under which subsequent patterns form under decreasing rainfall conditions, eventually leading to a bare desert state.

• Critical transitions
• Multistability
• Changing parameters
• Reaction advection diffusion
• Partial differential equations
• Desertification
• Dynamical systems

• All authors: Siero, E.P.J.A.
• Supervisor: Arjen, Doelman; Jens, Rademacher; Max, Rietkerk
• Qualification: Doctor (dr.)
• Awarding Institution: Mathematical Institute, Faculty of Science, Leiden University
• Date: 2016-02-09
• Sponsorship: NWO Complexity