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A simulation test of the resource‐averaging hypothesis of ecotone formation
Author(s) -
Malanson George P.,
Xiao Ningchuan,
Alftine Kathryn J.
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
journal of vegetation science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.1
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1654-1103
pISSN - 1100-9233
DOI - 10.2307/3236861
Subject(s) - ecotone , vegetation (pathology) , common spatial pattern , resource (disambiguation) , ecology , tree (set theory) , spatial ecology , environmental science , habitat , computer science , mathematics , biology , medicine , computer network , mathematical analysis , pathology
. The pattern at an ecotone may indicate the processes that created that ecotone. Such patterns may in turn affect the responses of ecotones to environmental change. The resource averaging hypothesis suggests a process for the development of tree lines that should produce patterns that are modifications of patterns in soil resources. A computer simulation model that embodies the resource averaging hypothesis is used to generate tree‐line patterns. Different spatial patterns in the variation of soil resources are represented in the model. The patterns of tree line computed by the simulation closely correspond to the patterns of soil resources that were input. These patterns are compared to patterns recorded in the field and by aerial photography. For the patterns of soil resources observed at some alpine tree lines, the model cannot produce the kinds of patterns of vegetation observed. Resource averaging alone cannot be an explanation of such tree lines.