Evidence of scale-free clusters of vegetation in tropical rainforests

TL;DR

This paper provides robust evidence that vegetation clusters in tropical rainforests follow a scale-invariant pattern, indicating complex multi-scale dynamics that are crucial for understanding ecosystem resilience.

Contribution

It introduces the first robust evidence of scale-invariant vegetation clusters in rainforests, combining field data and simulations to reveal multi-scale ecological patterns.

Findings

Vegetation clusters exhibit scale-invariance across multiple spatial scales.

The study confirms the presence of complex, multi-scale dynamics in rainforest ecosystems.

A new predictor for ecological resilience is proposed based on cluster distribution patterns.

Abstract

Tropical rainforests exhibit a rich repertoire of spatial patterns emerging from the intricate relationship between the microscopic interaction between species. In particular, the distribution of vegetation clusters can shed much light on the underlying process regulating the ecosystem. Analyzing the distribution of vegetation clusters at different resolution scales, we show the first robust evidence of scale-invariant clusters of vegetation, suggesting the coexistence of multiple intertwined scales in the collective dynamics of tropical rainforests. We use field data and computational simulations to confirm our hypothesis, proposing a predictor that could be particularly interesting to monitor the ecological resilience of the world's 'green lungs'.