Dresden 2014 – scientific programme

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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik

BP 29: Networks – Statistics and Dynamics (joint DY/BP/SOE)

BP 29.4: Talk

Wednesday, April 2, 2014, 15:45–16:00, ZEU 118

Structure and Topology of Optimal Transport Networks in Plant Leaves — •Henrik Ronellenfitsch and Eleni Katifori — Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization, Göttingen, Germany

Efficient photosynthesis in plants crucially depends on the ability to transport water from the soil into the leaves, where it can evaporate. To this effect, plants are equipped with a network of pipe-like cells, the xylem, facilitating efficient delivery of water to all parts of the organism. In the leaf, these networks form highly complex, highly reticulate, hierarchically organized webs that are believed to be the result of a process of gradual optimization over the course of evolutionary history. Based on the assumption of functional optimization over the course of evolution, we construct models for optimal transport networks adapted to different kinds of damage (modelling herbivory, diseases, etc...) and fluctuating load (modelling the fact that the stomata, small orifices responsible for the exchange of gasses, open in patches at a time). We numerically solve the resulting optimization problem and analyze the solutions with special regard to structure and hierarchical organization of loops which arise in response to damage and fluctuations.