Analysis of competition effects in mono- and mixed cultures of juvenile beech and spruce by means of the plant growth simulation model PLATHO.
Inter- and intra-specific competition between plants for external resources is a critical process for plant growth in natural and managed ecosystems. We present a new approach to simulate competition for the resources light, water, and nitrogen between individual plants within a canopy. This approach was incorporated in a process-oriented plant growth simulation model. The concept of modelling competition is based on competition coefficients calculated from the overlap of occupied crown and soil volumes of each plant individual with the occupied volumes of its four nearest neighbours. The model was parameterised with data from a two-year phytotron experiment with juvenile beech and spruce trees growing in mono- and mixed cultures. For testing the model, an independent data set from this experiment and data from a second phytotron experiment with mixed cultures were used. The model was applied to analyse the consequences of start conditions and plant density on plant-plant competition. In both experiments, spruce dominated beech in mixed cultures. Based on model simulations, we postulate a large influence of start conditions and stand density on the outcome of the competition between the species. When both species have similar heights at the time of canopy closure, the model suggests a greater morphological plasticity of beech compared with spruce to be the crucial mechanism for competitiveness in mixed canopies. Similar to the experiment, in the model greater plasticity was a disadvantage for beech leading to it being outcompeted by the more persistent spruce.