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Synthetic soil crusts against green-desert transitions: a spatial model

View ORCID ProfileBlai Vidiella, Josep Sardanyés, Ricard V. Solé
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/838631
Blai Vidiella
ICREA-Complex Systems Lab, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, 08003 BarcelonaInstitut de Biologia Evolutiva (CSIC-UPF), Psg. Maritim Barceloneta, 37, 08003 Barcelona
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  • ORCID record for Blai Vidiella
Josep Sardanyés
Centre de Recerca Matemàtica, Campus de Bellaterra 08193, Bellaterra, BarcelonaBarcelona Graduate School of Mathematics (BGSMath). Edifici C, Campus de Bellaterra 08193, Bellaterra, Barcelona
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Ricard V. Solé
ICREA-Complex Systems Lab, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, 08003 BarcelonaInstitut de Biologia Evolutiva (CSIC-UPF), Psg. Maritim Barceloneta, 37, 08003 BarcelonaSanta Fe Institute, 1399 Hyde Park Road, Santa Fe NM 87501, USA
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  • For correspondence: ricard.sole@upf.edu
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Abstract

Semiarid ecosystems are threatened by global warming due to longer dehydration times and increasing soil degradation. Mounting evidences indicate that, given the current trends, drylands are likely to expand and possibly experience catastrophic shifts from vegetated to desert states. Here we explore a recent suggestion based on the concept of ecosystem terraformation, where a synthetic organism is used to counterbalance some of the nonlinear effects causing the presence of such tipping points. Using an explicit spatial model incorporating facilitation and considering a simplification of states found in semiarid ecosystems i.e., vegetation, fertile and desert soil, we investigate how engineered microorganisms can shape the fate of these ecosystems. Specifically, two different, but complementary, terraformation strategies are proposed: Cooperation-based: C-terraformation; and Dispersion-based: D-terraformation. The first strategy involves the use of soil synthetic microorganisms to introduce cooperative loops (facilitation) with the vegetation. The second one involves the introduction of engineered microorganisms improving their dispersal capacity, thus facilitating the transition from desert to fertile soil. We show that small modifications enhancing cooperative loops can effectively change the location of the critical transition found at increasing soil degradation rates, also identifying a stronger protection against soil degradation by using the D-terraformation strategy. The same results are found in a mean field model providing insights into the transitions and dynamics tied to these terraformation strategies. The potential consequences and extensions of these models are discussed.

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Posted November 12, 2019.
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Synthetic soil crusts against green-desert transitions: a spatial model
Blai Vidiella, Josep Sardanyés, Ricard V. Solé
bioRxiv 838631; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/838631
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Synthetic soil crusts against green-desert transitions: a spatial model
Blai Vidiella, Josep Sardanyés, Ricard V. Solé
bioRxiv 838631; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/838631

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