Abstract
Simulations representing tree locations on a rectangular grid (cellular automaton) imply that spatial patterns associated with fire, seed dispersal, and the distributions of plants and resources affect forest dynamics profoundly. Simulated fires ignited at random locations in a uniform environment create non-uniform habitats and lead to patches dominated by different vegetation types. Short-range seed dispersal promotes vegetation clumping; fires cause these clumps to coalesce into vegetation zones separated by sharp borders, especially across an environmental gradient. In simulation of competition within vegetation mosaics, tree populations with a competitive advantage still require the intervention of fire to eliminate rivals. Also, the availability of local seed sources enables established tree populations to exclude invaders, but fires can trigger sudden changes in the composition of such systems. In models of simple succession systems, ‘climax’ vegetation tends to displace ‘pioneer’ vegetation, even under harsh fire regimes.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Austin, M. P. 1980. An exploratory analysis of grassland dynamics: an example of a lawn succession. Vegetatio 43: 87–94.
Bennett, K. D. 1985. The spread ofFagus grandifolia across North America during the last 18,000 years. J. Biogeogr. 12: 147–164.
Botkin, D. B., Janak, J. F. & Wallis, J. R. 1972. Some consequences of a computer model of forest growth. J. Ecol. 60: 849–872.
Connell, J. H., Tracey, J. G. & Webb, L. J. 1984. Compensatory recruitment, growth, and mortality as factors maintaining rainforest tree diversity. Ecol. Monogr. 54: 141–164.
Davis, M. B. 1976. Pleistocene biogeography of temperate deciduous forests. Geosci. Man 13: 13–26.
De Angelis, D. L., Waterhouse, J. C., Post, W. M. & O'Neill, R. V. 1985. Ecological modelling and disturbance evaluation. Ecol. Model. 29: 399–419.
Finegan, B. 1984. Forest succession. Nature 312: 109–114.
Foster, D. R. & King, G. A. 1986. Vegetation pattern and diversity in southeast Labrador, Canada:Betula papyrifera forest development in relation to fire history and physiography. J. Ecol. 74: 465–484.
Gill, A. M., Groves, R. H. & Noble, I. R. 1981. Fire in the Australian biota. Australian Academy of Science, Canberra.
Gillison, A. N. 1969. Plant succession in an irregularly fired grassland area—Doma Peaks region, Papua. J. Ecol. 57: 415–427.
Glasser, J. E. 1985. Successional trends on tree islands in the Okefenokee Swamp (USA) as determined by interspecific association analysis. Am. Midl. Nat. 113: 287–293.
Green, D. G. 1981. Time series and postglacial forests ecology. Quatern. Res. 15: 265–277.
Green, D. G. 1982. Fire and stability in the postglacial forests of southwest Nova Scotia. J. Biogeog. 9: 29–40.
Green, D. G. 1983. Shapes of simulated fires in discrete fuels. Ecol. Model. 20: 21–32.
Green, D. G. 1987. Pollen evidence for the postglacial origins of Nova Scotia's forests. Can. J. Bot. 65: 1163–1179.
Green, D. G., House, A. P. N. & House, S. M. 1985. Simulating spatial patterns in forest ecosystems. Maths Comput. Simul. 27: 191–198.
Greig-Smith, P. 1979. Pattern in vegetation. J. Ecol. 67: 755–779.
Hardin, G. 1960. The competitive exclusion principle. Science 131: 1292–1297.
Hobbs, R. J. & Hobbs, V. J. 1987. Gophers and grassland: a model of vegetation response to patchy soil disturbance. Vegetatio 69: 141–146.
Holling, C. S. 1973. Resilience and stability of ecological systems. Ann. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 4, 1–23.
Horn, H. S. 1976. Succession. In: May, R. M. (ed.), Theoretical ecology: principles and applications. pp. 187–204, Blackwell, Oxford.
House, A. P. N. 1986. Seed exchange and storage across rainforest- sclerophyll woodland boundaries in north Queensland. Unpublished Ph.D. thesis, Australian National University.
House, S. M. 1985. Relationship between breeding and spatial pattern in some dioecious tropical rainforest trees. Unpublished Ph. D. thesis, Australian National University.
Hubbell, S. P. 1979. Tree dispersion, abundance and diversity in a tropical deciduous forest. Science 203: 1299–1309.
Janzen, D. H. 1970. Herbivores and the number of tree species in tropical forests. Am. Nat. 104: 501–528.
Kessell, S. R. 1979. Gradient modelling-resource and fire managment. Springer-Verlag, New York.
Leps, J. & Kindlman, P. 1987. Models of the development of spatial pattern of an even-aged plant population over time. Ecol. Model. 39: 45–57.
Minnich, R. A. 1983. Fire mosaics in Southern California and Northern Baja California. Science 219: 1287–1294.
Myers, R. L. 1985. Fire and the dynamic relationship between Florida (USA) sandhill and sand pine vegetation. Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 112: 241–252.
Noble, I. R. & Slatyer, R. O. 1980. The use of vital attributes to predict successional changes in plant communities subject to recurrent disturbance. Vegetatio 43: 5–21.
Pielou, E. C. 1969. An introduction to mathematical ecology. Wiley-Interscience, New York.
Ritchie, J. C. 1985. Late Quaternary climatic and vegetation change in the lower MacKenzie Basin, northwest Canada. Ecology 66: 612–621.
Roberts, A. 1974. The stability of a feasible vandom ecosystem. Nature 251: 607–608.
Roff, D. A. 1974. Spatial heterogeneity and the persistence of population. Oecologia 15: 245–258.
van der Maarel, E. 1988. Vegetation dynamics: patterns in time and space. Vegetatio 77: 7–19.
van Tongeren, O. & Prentice, I. C. 1986. A spatial model for vegetation dynamics. Vegetatio 65: 163–174.
Westelaken, I. L. & Mann, M. A. 1985. Spatial pattern and seed dispersal ofLithospermum caroliniense on Lake Huron (Canada) sand dunes. Can. J. Bot. 63: 125–132.
Wilkie, D. S. & Finn, J. T. 1988. A spatial model of land use and forest regeneration in the Ituri forest of northeastern Zaire. Ecol. Model. 41: 307–323.
Wilson, G. 1988. The life and times of cellular automata. New Scientist 120: 44–49.
Wolfram, S. 1984. Cellular automata as models of complexity. Nature 311: 419–424.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Green, D.G. Simulated effects of fire, dispersal and spatial pattern on competition within forest mosaics. Vegetatio 82, 139–153 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00045027
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00045027