Project
Plant-microclimate interactions underlying cereal-legume intercrop performance
Better understanding of how plants grow differently under specific microclimate, and how does microclimate change with a more heterogeneous canopy architecture, will provide us more insight to select crop combinations and design farming systems for a more diverse climate-prove agriculture.
Background
Intercropping, the simultaneous cultivation of multiple crop species, offers promising solutions to contemporary agricultural challenges, such as yield instability and environmental degradation. While intercropping's benefits are context-dependent, its potential for increased yield per unit area is widely acknowledged. Central to this phenomenon is the modification of canopy architecture and microclimate. Besides the effect on light distribution, intercropping has also been suggested to impact other microclimatic variables, like temperature, humidity, and wind speed, with implications for evapotranspiration and heat fluxes. While light distribution within intercropped canopies has been thoroughly studied, understanding of other microclimatic factors remains limited.
Project description
This project aims to comprehensively investigate plant-microclimate interactions in
intercropping systems. Through data collection, modeling, and analysis, we seek
to quantify the effect of intercropping on microclimate and elucidate how these
effects scale across different levels of plant organization, from leaves to crops.
Additionally, we aim to analyze optimal combinations of plant traits and
spatial-temporal arrangements under varying microclimatic conditions. By
integrating mechanistic models of plant physiology and microclimate dynamics,
this research will provide valuable insights into the optimization of
intercropping systems for sustainable agriculture.
This project is part of the CropMix programme.