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Published on: October 22, 2018
Roots in space: a spatially explicit model for below-ground competition in plants
Erin E O'Brien1, Joel S Brown, Jason D Moll
1Joint Science Department, Claremont Colleges, W.M. Keck Science Center, 925 N. Mills Avenue, Claremont, CA 91711-5916, USA. eobrien@lifesci.ucsb.edu
Proceedings. Biological Sciences
|January 26, 2007
Summary
Game theory models plant root competition, predicting how nutrient foraging strategies influence root growth. Overlapping root spaces are an intentional outcome of plants competing for resources in varied soil conditions.
Area of Science:
- Plant Biology
- Ecology
- Evolutionary Game Theory
Background:
- Below-ground competition significantly impacts plant root proliferation.
- Understanding spatial root distribution is crucial for plant ecology.
- Existing models often overlook the game-theoretic aspects of root competition.
Purpose of the Study:
- To apply game theory to model root competition in a spatially explicit environment.
- To predict how nutrient competition influences plant root proliferation strategies.
- To define fundamental and realized root spaces under competitive conditions.
Main Methods:
- Modeling root competition as an evolutionary game.
- Analyzing optimal root proliferation strategies based on neighboring plant behavior.
- Investigating the influence of soil fertility, root production costs, and competitive asymmetries.
Main Results:
- Fundamental root spaces overlap, leading to smaller, overlapping realized root spaces due to competition.
- Root overlap is an intentional consequence of nutrient foraging games between plants.
- Root proliferation and overlap increase with soil fertility and decrease with root production costs.
Conclusions:
- Game theory offers a predictive framework for below-ground root competition.
- Root overlap patterns are expected outcomes of nutrient foraging games in heterogeneous soils.
- Competitive asymmetries and soil properties shape root proliferation strategies and overlap regions.
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