Spatial Trophic Dynamics Shape and are Shaped by Desertification Transitions

Regular vegetation spatial organization is linked to boom-bust, synchronised consumer metapopulations, while scale-free vegetation organization is associated with scale-free consumer clustering and low synchrony during desertification transitions.

• Why it matters: Desertification in drylands depends on water-driven vegetation patterns, but it remains unclear how spatial consumer-resource dynamics and foraging behaviour shape, and are shaped by, desertification transitions.
• What they did: The study used a spatially explicit tri-trophic model coupling vegetation pattern formation with consumer-resource interactions and consumer foraging behaviour, then compared outcomes across vegetation organization types and desertification transition conditions.
• The result: The model shows strong feedbacks between spatial trophic dynamics and ecosystem resilience, implying that management predictions for dryland ecosystems should integrate trophic interactions and behaviour.

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