L-egume

The legume population generic model was developed to account for herbaceous legume species with contrasting above- and below-ground morphogenetic syndromes and to integrate the responses of plants to light, water and N. Through coupling with a radiative transfer model and a three-dimensional virtual soil, the model allows dynamic resolution of competition for multiple resources at individual plant level within a plant community. The model predicts (1) the ‘reciprocal yield’ law relating average plant mass to density, (2) a self-thinning pattern close to that measured for herbaceous species and (3) consistent changes in the size structure of plant populations with time and pedo-climatic conditions. In addition, plastic changes in the partitioning of dry matter, the N acquisition mode and in the architecture of shoots and roots emerge from the integration of plant responses to their local environment.

Faverjon L, Escobar-Gutiérrez A, Litrico I, et al (2019) A generic individual-based model can predict yield, nitrogen content, and species abundance in experimental grassland communities. Journal of Experimental Botany 70:2491–2504. doi: 10.1093/jxb/ery323