Nitrate uptake modelling in plants: root activity

Using a thermodynamic flow–force interpretation of nitrate uptake isotherms, Malagoli and Le Deunff  develop a functional– structural model to predict N uptake in winter oilseed rape, Brassica napus. The structural component of the model, the active root biomass, is derived from a combination of root mapping in the field, the relationship between specific root length and external nitrate concentration, and the assignment of an absorption capacity related to integrated root system age. They find that model simulations are well matched to measured data for N uptake under field conditions at three different levels of fertilizer application. Model ouputs indicate that the topsoil layers contain about 80 % of the total root system and account for 90–95 % of N taken up at harvest.