Inducing Unstable Grassland Equilibrium States Due to Nonlinear Optimal Patterns of Initial and Parameter Perturbations: Theoretical Models

Due to uncertainties in initial conditions and parameters, the stability and uncertainty of grassland ecosystem simulations using ecosystem models are issues of concern. Our objective is to determine the types and patterns of initial and parameter perturbations that yield the greatest instability and uncertainty in simulated grassland ecosystems using theoretical models. We used a nonlinear optimization approach, i.e., a conditional nonlinear optimal perturbation related to initial and parameter perturbations (CNOP) approach, in our work.