Reconstructed rice canopies​#

Research context: Raphaël Pérez and collaborators · rice under intermittent shade.

How does a rice canopy respond to changing light, and how does that response depend on its architecture? This application links measurements of real plants to 3D light and photosynthesis simulations, with canopy-scale CO₂ exchange measured in a chamber.

Measurements, reconstructions, and chamber fluxes​#

Leaf and stem measurements from two rice varieties support reconstructions at several growth stages. ArchiCrop generates the plant geometries, ArchimedLight computes their light environment, and PlantBiophysics connects that environment to carbon assimilation.

Repeating the reconstruction at different dates allows the simulated canopy to follow the measured architectural changes. The gas-exchange chamber provides an integrated observation against which the canopy-scale model can be evaluated under full light and intermittent shade.

The role of the 3D light calculation is to connect the imposed shade pattern with the radiation received within the canopy. Physiological responses are handled by the coupled models, while the chamber measures the combined response of the plants.

Reference​#

Perez, R., Pradal, C., Lescroart, L., Mc Cormick, M., Braud, O., and Vezy, R. (2026). Simulating carbon assimilation of rice canopies under shade intermittence using a functional–structural plant model. FSPM 2026, Montpellier, France. Conference programme.

See PlantSimEngine coupling for connecting radiation to other plant processes, and outputs for the light quantities returned by ArchimedLight.