Environmental Engineering Reference
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Fig. 8.6 A spiral wave pattern on a hexagonal grid; excitable cells ( white ), excited cells ( black ),
refractory cells ( grey ); see text for details of state transitions
are started, and that at least one “fixed” cell exists on the grid. The emerging
pattern is a random structure with a self-similar pattern (Fig. 8.7 ). Examples for
the application of diffusion-limited aggregation models are CAs for predicting
urban development (White and Engelen 1993), investigating the spatial distribu-
tion of plants and animals (which often seem to form fractal patterns; Kendal
1995), and studying pattern formation, e.g. in plant morphogenesis (Fleury 1999)
(Fig. 8.7 ).
8.5 Case Study: Competition and Dispersal in Grassland
Communities
As an example of a more complicated, recent model applied for the study of
ecological questions, we elaborate on a CA model of a grassland community dynam-
ics (Matsinos and Troumbis 2002). The model illustrates nicely how local interac-
tions (dispersal and competition) determine overall community structure. The model
focuses particularly on the effect of resilience in communities on gap-creating
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