抄録
Gaps in the forest canopy are important for tree regeneration and tree species diversity. We study a stochastic lattice model with nearest-neighbor interaction for the spatial patterns of the forest canopy gaps. Assumtions are: (1) Vegetation height increases at a constant rate. (2) The mortality of a tree at a site in the lattice increases with the height relative to the average height of neighboring sites. The model is similar to the one for wave regeneration in fir forests (Shimagare), but now assuming symmetric wind direction (without predominant wind direction). The model shows that the cluster size distribution often follows a power-law, as is observed in natural forests. We discuss the relationship of our model with other models that generate power-laws, such as three state mussel bed model and forest fire models.
