Scaling laws in ecological systems

by Christian Grilletta

Thursday 7 May 2026, 16:30 → 16:45 Europe/Rome

1/1-3 - Aula B (Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia - Edificio Marzolo)

Although ecological systems exhibit pervasive patterns and scaling relations between size, abundance, and resource availability, the dynamical origins of these patterns remain debated. In this talk, I will present a minimal model of forest dynamics in which individual growth and mortality rates emerge from the interplay between local competition and global resource constraints. The model predicts a steady-state size distribution with two distinct power-law regimes, whose crossover is controlled by the rate at which new individuals enter the system. I will also discuss how spatial structure modifies this picture, introducing finite-size effects.