EconPapers    
Economics at your fingertips  
 

A functional-structural model for growth of clonal bunchgrasses

Kyle W. Tomlinson, James G. Dominy, John W. Hearne and O’Connor, Timothy G.

Ecological Modelling, 2007, vol. 202, issue 3, 243-264

Abstract: Interactions between structural architecture and resource allocation affect the ability of plants to utilise environmental resources. Architecture defines the structural layout and relationships of organs and other structural units at different hierarchical levels in plants. Resource allocation determines how competing structural units are awarded resources at different levels of hierarchy. Functional-structural plant models combine architecture and resource allocation as interacting components of plant growth and functioning. Existing functional-structural plant models concentrate on growth of unitary trees and therefore, lack sufficient structural definition to simulate growth of clonal plants. On the other hand, simulation models designed to consider clonal growth rarely attempt to simulate clonal architecture at a more detailed level than individual ramets. This paper introduces a functional-structural type model, TILLERTREE, which integrates the architectural growth of bunchgrasses with resource capture and allocation of nitrogen and carbohydrate. Resource allocation is implemented using a procedural algorithm based on object hierarchy and priority, and not mechanistically. The model is used to illustrate that growth of bunchgrass clones is regulated by patterns of resource allocation between competing units at low levels of hierarchy, by considering the effect of resource rules controlling secondary tiller recruitment on clonal growth. Simulations are conducted using a chosen model C4 bunchgrass species Themeda triandra.

Keywords: Plant architecture; Resource allocation; Plant growth; Plant model; Themeda triandra (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2007
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304380006005370
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:ecomod:v:202:y:2007:i:3:p:243-264

DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2006.11.002

Access Statistics for this article

Ecological Modelling is currently edited by Brian D. Fath

More articles in Ecological Modelling from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().

 
Page updated 2025-03-19
Handle: RePEc:eee:ecomod:v:202:y:2007:i:3:p:243-264