Ecogeomorphic state variables and phase-space construction for quantifying the evolution of vegetated aeolian landscapes
Baas, Andreas C.W. and Nield, Joanna M. (2010) Ecogeomorphic state variables and phase-space construction for quantifying the evolution of vegetated aeolian landscapes. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 35, (6), 717-731. (doi:10.1002/esp.1990).
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Description/Abstract
Cellular automaton modelling for the simulation of dune field formation and evolution has developed progressively in aeolian geomorphology in the last decade or so. A model that incorporates the effects of vegetation and its interactions with geomorphic landscape development - the Discrete Ecogeomorphic Aeolian Landscapes (DECAL) model - can replicate a number of important visual and qualitative aspects of the complex evolution of aeolian dune landscapes under the influence of vegetation dynamics in coastal environments. A key challenge in this research area is the analysis and comparison of both simulated and real-world vegetated dune landscapes using objective and quantifiable principles. This study presents a methodological framework or protocol for numerically quantifying various ecogeomorphic attributes, using a suite of mathematically defined landscape metrics, to provide a rigorous and statistical evaluation of vegetated dune field evolution. Within this framework the model parameter space can be systematically explored and simulation outcomes can be methodically compared against real-world landscapes. Based on a simplified scenario of parabolic dunes developing out of blow-outs the resulting dune field realizations are investigated as a function of variable growth vigour of two simulated vegetation types (pioneer grass and successional woody shrub) by establishing a typological phase-diagram of different landscape classes. The set of simulation outcomes furthermore defines a higher-dimensional phase-space, whose axes or dimensions can be interpreted by analysing how individual ecogeomorphic landscape metrics, or state variables, contribute to the data distribution. Principal component analysis can reduce this to a visual three-dimensional (3D) phase-space where landscape evolution can be plotted as time-trajectories and where we can investigate the effects of changing environmental conditions partway through a simulation scenario. The use of landscape state variables and the construction of a 3D phase-space presented here may provide a general template for quantifying many other eco-geomorphic systems on the Earth's surface.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| ISSNs: | 0197-9337 (print) 1096-9837 (electronic) |
| Keywords: | modelling, phase-space, vegetation, dunes, DECAL |
| Subjects: | G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > G Geography (General) |
| Divisions: | University Structure - Pre August 2011 > School of Geography |
| Item ID: | 155001 |
| Date Deposited: | 26 May 2010 15:36 |
| Last Modified: | 01 Jun 2011 13:08 |
| Contributors: | Baas, Andreas C.W. (Author) Nield, Joanna M. (Author) |
| Date: | May 2010 |
| Status: | Published |
| URI: | http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/155001 |
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