Catastrophic Shifts in Semiarid Vegetation-Soil Systems May Unfold Rapidly or Slowly

Under gradual change of a driver, complex systems may switch between contrasting stable states. For many ecosystems it is unknown how rapidly such a critical transition unfolds. Here we explore the rate of change during the degradation of a semiarid ecosystem with a model coupling the vegetation and geomorphological system. Two stable states-vegetated and bare-are identified, and it is shown that the change between these states is a critical transition. Surprisingly, the critical transition between the vegetated and bare state can unfold either rapidly over a few years or gradually over decennia up to millennia, depending on parameter values. An important condition for the phenomenon is the linkage between slow and fast ecosystems components. Our results show that, next to climate change and disturbance rates, the geological and geomorphological setting of a semiarid ecosystem is crucial in predicting its fate.