A Single Theory Explains Two Empirical Laws Applicable to Plant Populations

✍ Scribed by YUTAKA KOBAYASHI; KIHACHIRO KIKUZAWA

• Book ID: 102611987
• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 2000
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 158 KB
• Volume: 205
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0022-5193
• DOI: 10.1006/jtbi.2000.2058

✦ Synopsis

Two empirical laws, formulated independently, are known to be well satis"ed in even-aged plant monocultures. One relates yield to plant density in di!erent plant populations, and the other relates cumulative plant mass to cumulative plant number from the largest individual within a population. In this paper, we construct a mathematical model of plant growth under asymmetric competition between individuals in a population, where large individuals grow larger than small individuals because they pre-empt resources, especially light. The model categorizes in#uences on the growth of a plant into those from individuals larger than itself, and those from all individuals in the population. We derive the two laws from our model. Thus, individual growth, determined by asymmetric interaction between individuals in a population, can explain the two di!erent laws relating to plant populations.