Functional Structural Plant Models
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Functional Structural Plant Models are designed to integrate how plants develop and grow in their morphology with how their physiology functions.   Seven international meetings have been held, the most recent in Finland.  This lab has been involved in this type of modelling since the early 1990s.   Our first model was a description of how the branch and foliage structure of trees affects their competition (Sorrenen-Cothern et al. 1993). Subsequently we were engaged in analysis of how such models can be assessed (Reynolds and Ford 1999).

A recent example of this type of approach, analysis of longevity in conifer trees, is given here.  The overall importance of FSPMs is that they work towards an integration of plant function based on the whole plant.    This is different from an integration based on the whole cell and raises important questions about how tissues and organs are connected and communicate.

How do some trees grow to an age of 1000 years or even older?

In answering this question we made extensive use of the Wind River Canopy Crane Research Facility (WRCCRF) to measure crown growth and development of Douglas-fir, western red cedar and grand fir.

Our research in this area  has involved field measurements using the Wind River Canopy Crane canopy crane, ropes and disection of sampled branches. Our simulation model  of branch development in old-growth Douglas-fir illustrates the importance of foliage reiteration in both minimizing the length of water conduction pathways and increasing utilization of patches of light in the crown.

Photograph by Maureen Kennedy

On the left western red cedar; center grand fir; right Douglas-fir.