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Extending a 1D Multi-Scale Plant Growth Model to Include Branching under Environmental and Soil Nutrient Dynamics.
Hassan Chini1,2, Aissam Jebrane3, Abdelilah Hakim4
1Complex Systems and Interactions Research Center, Centrale Casablanca, Ville Verte, Bouskoura, 27182, Morocco. hassan.chini@centrale-casablanca.ma.
This study enhances a plant growth model to include environmental factors like temperature and solar radiation, improving predictions of plant architecture and branching under dynamic conditions.
Area of Science:
- Plant biology
- Mathematical modeling
- Environmental science
Background:
- The Bessonov-Volpert model describes plant elongation based on nutrient uptake but lacks environmental influence.
- Plant development is significantly impacted by environmental factors like temperature and solar radiation, affecting growth and branching.
Purpose of the Study:
- To extend the 1D multi-scale hybrid model of plant growth to incorporate environmental dynamics.
- To generalize the framework for plant development under fluctuating soil nutrients and environmental conditions.
- To enable the emergence of lateral branches within the model.
Main Methods:
- Extended the Bessonov-Volpert model by incorporating an effective time variable based on Effective Day Degrees.
- Integrated temperature and solar radiation into the model to influence growth velocity.
- Coupled local hormonal signaling (auxin and cytokinin) with nutrient-dependent growth and environmental constraints.
Main Results:
- The modified model shows growth velocity dependent on environmental fluctuations, not constant as in the original model.
- Numerical simulations demonstrate how soil nutrients and environmental conditions influence plant branching patterns and architecture.
- The model successfully integrates hormonal signaling, nutrient uptake, and environmental factors.
Conclusions:
- The enhanced model provides a mathematically consistent and biologically grounded framework for studying adaptive plant growth.
- This generalized model offers new insights into how dynamic environments shape plant architecture.
- The study highlights the importance of environmental factors in plant development and branching.

