Dry Roots: an ABM Featuring a Drought Prone Forest

Presentation Year

2026

College or Department

College of Natural Resources & Sciences

Short Description of your Research or Creative Project (700 characters or less)

Forest resilience emerges from interactions among a diverse population of tree species, in which species-specific traits govern individual responses to environmental stress and collectively sustain ecosystem stability. To understand why these local interactions are so essential for sustainable ecosystem management, we propose an agent-based model of a mixed forest subjected to intense drought. Tree agents accumulate stress from environmental conditions such as dehydration, overheating, and limited sunlight, triggering adaptive responses and consequently alter local dynamics. Our simulation identifies how these dynamics enable forest persistence in an arid climate.

Permission to Publish Work

Yes

Presentation File Upload

mathematics-kona-mack-202005-2x3.pdf (15.52 KB)

Primary Contact: First Name

Mack

Primary Contact: Last Name

Kona

Primary Contact: Email

mk279@humboldt.edu

Primary Contact: I am a

Undergraduate Student

Primary Contact: Phone Number

(209)302-0500

Indicate File Dimensions

3'x2'