Theory 37/Desert & Dryland/Vegetation bands
Stripes Need a Slope Ratio
The claim
Desert vegetation stripes form only within a range of slope-to-infiltration ratios, appearing where runoff concentrates without eroding.
01Mechanism
Bands form where water runs off bare ground onto vegetated strips; too flat and water pools, too steep and it scours.
02Prediction
Stripes should appear within a slope window.
03Refutation
Stripes forming across all slopes would remove the ratio.