No abstract

No abstract

Relationships between nitrogen (N) content and growth are routinely measured in plants. This study determined the effects of N on the separate morphological and physiological components of plant growth, to assess how Nlimited growth is effected through these components. Lettuce (Lactuca sativa) plants were grown hydroponically under contrasting N-supply regimes, with the external N supply either maintained continuously throughout the period of study, or withdrawn for up to 14 d. Richards' growth functions, selected using an objective curve-fitting technique, accounted for 99n0 and 99n1% of the variation in plant dry weight for control and N-limited plants respectively. Sublinear relationships occurred between N and relative growth rates under restricted N-supply conditions, consistent with previous observations. There were effects of treatment on morphological and physiological components of growth. Leaf weight ratio increased over time in control plants and decreased in Nlimited plants. Shoot : root ratio followed a similar pattern. On a whole-plant basis, assimilation of carbon decreased in N-limited plants, a response paralleled by differences in stomatal conductance between treatments. Changes in C assimilation, expressed as a function of stomatal conductance to water vapour, suggest that the effects of N limitation on growth did not result directly from a lack of photosynthetic enzymes. Relationships between plant N content and components of growth will depend on the availability of different N pools for remobilization and use within the plant.

Functional–structural plant models (FSPMs) explore and integrate relationships between a plant’s structure and processes that underlie its growth and development. In recent years, the range of topics being addressed by scientists interested in functional–structural plant modelling has expanded greatly. FSPM techniques are now being used to dynamically simulate growth and development occurring at the microscopic scale involving cell division in plant meristems to the macroscopic scales of whole plants and plant communities. The plant types studied also cover a broad spectrum from algae to trees. FSPM is highly interdisciplinary and involves scientists with backgrounds in plant physiology, plant anatomy, plant morphology, mathematics, computer science, cellular biology, ecology and agronomy. This special issue of Annals of Botany features selected papers that provide examples of comprehensive functional–structural models, models of key processes such as partitioning of resources, software for modelling plants and plant environments, data acquisition and processing techniques and applications of functional–structural plant models for agronomic purposes.

Growing mixtures of annual arable crop species or genotypes is a promising way to improve crop production without increasing agricultural inputs. To design optimal crop mixtures, choices of species, genotypes, sowing proportion, plant arrangement, and sowing date need to be made but field experiments alone are not sufficient to explore such a large range of factors. Crop modeling allows to study, understand and ultimately design cropping systems and is an established method for sole crops.Recently, modeling started to be applied to annual crop mixtures as well.Here, we review to what extent crop simulation models and individual-based models are suitable to capture and predict the specificities of annual crop mixtures. We argued that: 1) The crop mixture spatio-temporal heterogeneity (influencing the occurrence of ecological processes) determines the choice of the modeling approach (plant or crop centered). 2) Only few crop models (adapted from sole crop models) and individual-based models currently exist to simulate annual crop mixtures. 3) Crop models are mainly used to address issues related to crop mixtures management and to the integration of crop mixtures into larger scales such as the rotation, whereas individual-based models are mainly used to identify plant traits involved in crop mixture performance and to quantify the relative contribution of the different ecological processes (niche complementarity, facilitation, competition, plasticity) to crop mixture functioning.This review highlights that modeling of annual crop mixtures is in its infancy and gives to model users some important keys to choose the model based on the questions they want to answer, with awareness of the strengths and weaknesses of each of the modeling approaches. The authors declare that they have no conflict of interestDuchene O, Vian J-F, Celette F (2017) Intercropping with legume for agroecological cropping systems: Complementarity and facilitation processes and the importance of soil microorganisms. A review. Agric Dunbabin VM, Postma JA, Schnepf A, et al (2013) Modelling root-soil interactions using threedimensional models of root growth, architecture and function. Plant Soil 372:93-124. Durand J-L, Andrieu B, Barillot R, et al (2016) Designing and improving mixed grasslands: advances made in modelling forage variety performance. Fourrages 21-28 Duru M, Therond O, Fares M (2015) Designing agroecological transitions; A review. Agron Sustain