SIMULATING RESOURCE COMPETITION IN MULTISPECIES AGRICULTURAL PLANT-COMMUNITIES

Agricultural systems that utilize reduced tillage, minimal inputs produced off-farm, and/or intercropping are being developed worldwide. In these systems competition for resources among two or more plant species, including weeds, are important. A need exists for improved modelling capabilities of multispecies interactions so that these systems can be studied more quickly and efficiently. The Nitrogen, Tillage, Residue, Management. (NTRM) model was expanded to simulate the concurrent development of several plant species growing together in a field-sized agricultural plant community. Competitive interactions between component plant species were simulated by the addition of algorithms to partition average daily light flux density in a one-dimensional, horizontally layered plant canopy and by expansion of a one-dimensional root zone sub-model to predict the simultaneous extraction of water and soil nitrogen by competing plant root systems. The expanded simulation model, known as NTRM-MSC (-Multiple Species Competition), was calibrated and validated with data obtained from a field study investigating corn (Zea mays L.) and redroot pigweed (Amaranthus retroflexus L.) competitive interactions. Preliminary model validation was performed using data from com/pigweed mixtures and monocultures receiving reduced irrigation inputs or no nitrogen fertilization. Results indicated that the NTRM-MSC model shows promise for simulating canopy light interception in mixed and monoculture stands. The model also performed well (r2 of 0-889 to 0.955) at predicting dry matter accumulation and leaf area development of both com and redroot pigweed growing in mixture and monoculture for irrigated, non-irrigated, and for N-fertilized and non-fertilized conditions. Sensitivity analyses of several model parameters suggest that the NTRM-MSC model may provide information on factors important in driving the competition between species in agroecosystems.