Growth of Individuals in Plant Populations

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Abstract
Relationships between individual plant weight and net photosynthesis per day (G(t, x) function of plant weight) in plant populations of various stand structures were simulated based on a canopy photosynthesis model. The G(t, x) functions of plant weight are determined mainly by LAI (leaf area index), the relationship between individual plant weight and leaf area, canopy structure and extinction coefficient. The concave relationship between individual plant weight and leaf area at small LAI (G(t, x) function, which generates negative skewness of plant weight. The linear relationship between individual plant weight and leaf area at large LAI (> 2) produces a convex G(t, x) function, which generates positive skewness of plant weight. These simulation results coincide with G(t, x) functions obtained experimentally and with the well-known phenomenon of stand dynamics in which skewness of plant weight becomes negative in the early growth stage and then increases to a positive value as a stand grows and becomes crowded.