This paper introduces a functional-structural plant model based on Artificial Life concepts and reports studies on evolutionary dynamics in virtual plant communities. The characteristic of the present approach lies in plant evolution at both functional and structural levels. The conducted experiments focus on the emergence of different life history strategies in an environment with heterogeneous resource availability and disturbance frequency. It is found that, depending on the encountered conditions, the plants develop three major strategies classified as competitors, stress-tolerators and ruderals according to Grime’s CSR theory. Most of the evolved characteristics comply with theoretical biology or field observations on natural plants.
['Stefan Bornhofen', 'Claude Lattaud']
Evolving CSR Strategies in Virtual Plant Communities