Consequences of the fractal architecture of trees on their structural measures.
While the mechanics of trees are well known, a systematic and comprehensive study of the mechanical consequences of a tree's fractal structure has been lacking. Here, we analyze the structure of botanical trees using computer modeling and show that many relevant measures of support throughout all the branches of a tree follow specific patterns which can be described by characteristic probability distributions and well-defined spatial relationships. Most notably, moments, forces, and axial and shear stresses throughout the different branches all exhibit power-law distributions. These results suggest a new approach to the study of the mechanics of trees, one accounting for the implications of the above results.
Pluciński
Mateusz
M
Department of Operations Research and Financial Engineering, E-214 E-Quad, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA. mplucins@princeton.edu
Pluciński
Szymon
S
Rodríguez-Iturbe
Ignacio
I
D003198:Computer Simulation; D017709:Fractals; D008954:Models, Biological; D008961:Models, Structural; D014197:Trees / Q000033:anatomy & histology*