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Testing for criticality in ecosystem dynamics: the case of Amazonian rainforest and savanna fire
Author(s) -
Pueyo Salvador,
De Alencastro Graça Paulo Maurício Lima,
Barbosa Reinaldo Imbrozio,
Cots Ricard,
Cardona Eva,
Fearnside Philip M.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
ecology letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.852
H-Index - 265
eISSN - 1461-0248
pISSN - 1461-023X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1461-0248.2010.01497.x
Subject(s) - amazonian , rainforest , ecology , ecosystem , tropical rainforest , geography , climate change , amazon rainforest , environmental science , biology
Ecology Letters (2010) 13: 793–802 Abstract We test for two critical phenomena in Amazonian ecosystems: self‐organized criticality (SOC) and critical transitions. SOC is often presented in the complex systems literature as a general explanation for scale invariance in nature. In particular, this mechanism is claimed to underlie the macroscopic structure and dynamics of terrestrial ecosystems. These would be inextricably linked to the action of fire, which is conceived as an endogenous ecological process. We show that Amazonian savanna fires display the scale‐invariant features characteristic of SOC but do not display SOC. The same is true in Amazonian rainforests subject to moderate drought. These findings prove that there are other causes of scale invariance in ecosystems. In contrast, we do find evidence of a critical transition to a megafire regime under extreme drought in rainforests; this phenomenon is likely to determine the time scale of a possible loss of Amazonian rainforest caused by climate change.