Modelling plant growth

Virtually all our food comes ultimately from plants, either directly or when used as feedstock for animals. Thus to ensure a secure food supply for the future, particularly in the light of global climate change and population growth, it is essential that we fully understand how plants grow so we may optimise their growth in challenging environmental conditions (for example during a drought or a flood). This growth occurs across multiple spatial and temporal scales, from the microscale of the cell wall network, to organ and organism level. This research looks at developing and analysing novel mathematical models to generate insight into the governing mechanisms of plant growth, and to optimise these processes. The project links the areas of continuum mechanics and mathematical biology.