Spatial self-organized patterns as living infrastructure

Department

Theme

Thesis cover Mingxuan Wu.

'Spatial self-organized patterns as living infrastructure', thesis cover Mingxuan Wu

Coastal ecosystems like tidal flats, salt marshes and low-lying meadows protect our shores, store carbon and harbour biodiversity, but they are also among the first to feel sea-level rise, subsidence and salt intrusion. Seen from above, many of them are strikingly patterned. In his PhD research, Mingxuan Wu showed that these self-organized patterns act as living infrastructure: they route water, salt and disturbance, and keep recovery pathways open under stress. This may help make restoration and conservation more effective. Wu is defending his PhD at the University of Groningen on September 8th.

Estuarine delta seen from above, with algae patterns.

The Paardenschor tidal flat and algae patterns (photo: Mingxuan Wu).

Short summary

Spatial self-organized patterns are widespread across ecosystems. As climate change puts ecosystems under increasing stress, these patterns are often seen as warning signs of decline or even collapse. Beyond what spatial patterns can signal, this thesis investigates what these patterns can do. 

The thesis first traces how simple photosynthetic life, in the form of microbial mats found in estuaries, can organize itself into complex, nested patterns across spatial scales. In tidal microbial mats, each additional level of spatial organization increased water retention and recovery after disturbance. It then provides field-based evidence that such spatial structure can actively mediate environmental stress: in salt-affected meadows, hummock–hollow patterns redistributed salt, sustaining plant productivity and reproduction under stressful conditions. Finally, by experimentally creating creek networks in young salt marshes, the thesis shows how deliberately introduced spatial structures can act as footholds for pioneer plants, increasing their survival, reproduction and chances of successful establishment. 

Together, these studies trace a progression from how self-organized patterns are built, to how they support ecosystem functioning, and finally to how their underlying logic can be used in restoration. They reveal self-organization as a form of “living infrastructure” that helps ecosystems persist, recover and establish under changing conditions.

Estuarine delta seen from above.

A meadow of contrasting landscape in Yerseke (photo: Mingxuan Wu).