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Chapter 6. Center for the Study of Earth from Space (CSES), 1985-2002
Coupling between Complex Terrain, Climate, and Vegetation
This is a new area of research, which Gupta initiated in 1999 in collaboration with a landscape ecologist, Bruce Milne (University of New Mexico). The dimensionless ratio of precipitation to potential evapotranspiration (P/PET) combines water and energy. It shows wide ranging consequences for the formation and organization of landscapes, which pivot on the transition from water- to energy-limited environments at P/PET= I. The researchers observed fractal behavior in the spatial distribution of vegetation at this point of transition in the Columbia river basin. CSES scientists are initiating the development of a common biophysical theory to explain the empirically observed coupling between terrain formation, vegetation distribution, productivity and decomposition, and animal diversity.
