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Explore how heather vegetation in the Scottish Highlands creates striking regular patterns through mathematical modeling in this conference lecture. Discover a model where simple interactions between heather (Calluna vulgaris), wind, and soil generate periodic travelling waves that mirror real-life vegetation patterns observed in nature. Learn how bands of vegetation alternate with bare ground while the entire pattern moves perpendicular to the bands, and understand the crucial role of heather and soil diffusion in this process. Examine how heather functions as an ecosystem engineer, using pattern formation to extend its habitat into harsh, wind-blasted environments that would otherwise be uninhabitable.
