Abstract:

In the presentation we introduce a size-structured population dynamical model with one and two species for forest growth, and we compare this model with a computer forest simulator named SORTIE. The main ingredient taken into account in both models is the competition for light between trees. The parameters of the mathematical model are estimated by fitting to the data generated by SORTIE when the parameter values of SORTIE correspond to the ones previously evaluated for the Great Mountain Forest in USA. We see that the best fit of the parameters of the mathematical model is obtained when the competition for light influences only the growth rate of trees. We also construct a size-structured population dynamical model with spatial structure, and we conduct numerical simulations to observe the spread of trees in space.