Simulation of growth and development of beech seedlings growing in different light environments using PIAF-1
Simulation de la croissance et du développement de jeune hêtre poussant sous différents environnements lumineux à l'aide de PIAF-1
Résumé
The European beech (Fagus silvatica L.) is a late-successional shade tolerant species. It is often cultivated and managed with the shelterwood system in Europe, meaning that its natural regeneration takes place in shade. Under low light conditions, seedling size must stay below a threshold where carbon gain and carbon balance remain positive. This is not so easy to determine experimentally. Therefore, a simulation approach using the carbon-based functional-structural model PIAF-1 (Lacointe and Donès, 2007) was used to investigate the relationship between carbon balance and growth of young beech trees under low light availability.