New study uncovers the early-warning signals hidden in dynamical plant formations

• IFISC-led research, published in PNAS, demonstrates the critical role of self-organized plant patterns in maintaining ecosystem resilience under harsh conditions.
• These findings provide valuable tools for monitoring and predicting ecosystem decline, with implications for environmental management and policy.

A new study led by scientists from IFISC (CSIC-UIB) and the Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development at Utrecht University, published in the prestigious Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), uncovers a remarkable resilience mechanism that enables plants to survive in extreme environments. Instead of forming uniform meadows, these plants arrange themselves into patterns that travel and evolve over time. This way, plants reduce competition and boost cooperation, ultimately enhancing the health of the entire ecosystem. 

Plants naturally change the soil around them by taking up nutrients, leaving behind residues, or encouraging the buildup of pathogens. This process can reduce plant survival chances. A prime example is Posidonia oceanica, a native Mediterranean species that was the focus of the study. As dead plants decompose, they release sulfides that build up around the roots, poisoning the plant. 

"We observed that Posidonia oceanica tends to move towards areas with lower levels of toxins", explains Damià Gomila, leader of the study at IFISC (CSIC-UIB). "This leads to the formation of large-scale patterns in the landscape. What's fascinating is that these patterns are not static, but evolve slowly, traveling at just a few centimeters per year”. While scientists had previously observed simple ring formations, this new study shows that more complex arrangements, like spatiotemporal chaos, concentric rings, and moving periodic stripes, also occur. 

The shapes of these patterns provide clues about the health of the meadow. Under optimal conditions, the plants form a uniform, healthy meadow. As environmental stress increases, the patterns transition from a uniform state to disordered chaos, then evolve into spirals and finally settle into regular, moving stripes (see Figure 1). Just before the ecosystem collapses, only rings and isolated stripes remain. According to IFISC researcher Pablo Moreno-Spiegelberg, "the transition from order to chaos and then to distinct patterns is like a visual alarm system, indicating the health status of the meadow". 

The researchers emphasize that this finding has important implications for the conservation of these vital ecosystems. "By understanding these patterns, we can develop more effective tools to monitor and preserve seagrass meadows", concludes Gomila. "This study offers us a new perspective on the complexity of ecosystems and the importance of self-organization for their survival".

P. Moreno-Spiegelberg, M. Rietkerk, & D. Gomila, How spatiotemporal dynamics can enhance ecosystem resilience, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 122 (11) e2412522122, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2412522122 (2025). 

Figure 1: Spatiotemporal patterns of Posidonia oceanica for different environmental conditions worsening from left to right. a) Spatiotemporal chaos; b) two counter-rotating spirals forming concentring rings, c) moving stripes; d) expanding ring. e)-h) show simulations of the model reproducing the dynamical regimes in a)-d) respectively.

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