Publication Date

1985

Location

Kyoto Japan

Description

An attempt was made to study the terminal branching patterns, and maximizing effective spreading stems and leaf surface area of herbs such as crabgrass, Digitaria sanguinalis and Korean lawn, Zoysia japonica. Two dimensional positions of the end-points of the branches could be calculated using branching angle and relative ratio of the branch lenghts. The branching angles and the relative ratio of the branch lenghts were well fitted to analyze effects on the whole canopy structures of herbaceous individuals and communities. The branching pattern and leaf cluster for maximum effective leaf area, and maximum interception and absorption of sunlight were interpreted as the experimental data observed in nature and simulated plots. In order to clarify how the number of the terminal branching points grows with time, the positive feed back theory with cybernetic rhythm was accepted as branching growth. The order of the node position of the terminal branch was changed from bottom node to top node as growing season has been changed from the spring to the autumn. Growth of branching angle, time variant angles, between the mother branch and the daughter branch have an asymptotic final degrees, average 50° and 59°, in the case of crabgrass and Korean lawn, respectively. Those simulations for canopy architecture of plants should be also useful in designing the maximizing effective leaf area, sunlight interception, photosynthesis and matter production.

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Branching Geometry and Effective Leaf Area of Spreading Herbs, the Crabgrass and The Korean Lawn

Kyoto Japan

An attempt was made to study the terminal branching patterns, and maximizing effective spreading stems and leaf surface area of herbs such as crabgrass, Digitaria sanguinalis and Korean lawn, Zoysia japonica. Two dimensional positions of the end-points of the branches could be calculated using branching angle and relative ratio of the branch lenghts. The branching angles and the relative ratio of the branch lenghts were well fitted to analyze effects on the whole canopy structures of herbaceous individuals and communities. The branching pattern and leaf cluster for maximum effective leaf area, and maximum interception and absorption of sunlight were interpreted as the experimental data observed in nature and simulated plots. In order to clarify how the number of the terminal branching points grows with time, the positive feed back theory with cybernetic rhythm was accepted as branching growth. The order of the node position of the terminal branch was changed from bottom node to top node as growing season has been changed from the spring to the autumn. Growth of branching angle, time variant angles, between the mother branch and the daughter branch have an asymptotic final degrees, average 50° and 59°, in the case of crabgrass and Korean lawn, respectively. Those simulations for canopy architecture of plants should be also useful in designing the maximizing effective leaf area, sunlight interception, photosynthesis and matter production.