Explaining ontogenetic shifts in root-shoot scaling with transient dynamics.

ABSTRACT:

Background and aims

Simple models of herbaceous plant growth based on optimal partitioning theory predict, at steady state, an isometric relationship between shoot and root biomass during plant ontogeny, i.e. a constant root-shoot ratio. This prediction has received mixed empirical support, suggesting either that optimal partitioning is too coarse an assumption to model plant biomass allocation, or that additional processes need to be modelled to account for empirical findings within the optimal partitioning framework. In this study, simulations are used to compare quantitatively two potential explanations for observed non-isometric relationships, namely nutrient limitation during the experiments and initial developmental constraints.

Methods

A simple plant growth model was

SUBMITTER: Lohier T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4217652 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature