TY - JOUR
T1 - Exploring the mechanical and morphological rationality of tree branch structure based on 3D point cloud analysis and the finite element method
AU - Tsugawa, Satoru
AU - Teratsuji, Kaname
AU - Okura, Fumio
AU - Noshita, Koji
AU - Tateno, Masaki
AU - Zhang, Jingyao
AU - Demura, Taku
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by MEXT KAKENHI 20K15832 to ST, by MEXT KAKENHI JP18H05484 to TD, by MEXT KAKENHI 19H05369 to JZ, by JST PRESTO JPMJPR16O5 and JST MIRAI JPMJMI20G6 to KN, by JST PRESTO JPMJPR17O3, JST FOREST JPMJFR206F and JSPS KAKENHI JP21H03466 to FO. We would like to thank Keiji Suzuki and group members in Ken’ichi Kawaguchi laboratory and thank group members in Jingyao Zhang laboratory for taking photographs of trees. We appreciate the helpful comments on this study by Ken’ichi Kawaguchi (University of Tokyo), Hiroyuki Shima (Yamanashi University), Motohiro Sato (Hokkaido University), Yosuke Toda (Nagoya University), and Miyuki T Nakata (NAIST).
Funding Information:
This work was supported by MEXT KAKENHI 20K15832 to ST, by MEXT KAKENHI JP18H05484 to TD, by MEXT KAKENHI 19H05369 to JZ, by JST PRESTO JPMJPR16O5 and JST MIRAI JPMJMI20G6 to KN, by JST PRESTO JPMJPR17O3, JST FOREST JPMJFR206F and JSPS KAKENHI JP21H03466 to FO. We would like to thank Keiji Suzuki and group members in Ken’ichi Kawaguchi laboratory and thank group members in Jingyao Zhang laboratory for taking photographs of trees. We appreciate the helpful comments on this study by Ken’ichi Kawaguchi (University of Tokyo), Hiroyuki Shima (Yamanashi University), Motohiro Sato (Hokkaido University), Yosuke Toda (Nagoya University), and Miyuki T Nakata (NAIST).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022, The Author(s).
PY - 2022/12
Y1 - 2022/12
N2 - Trees are thought to have acquired a mechanically optimized shape through evolution, but a scientific methodology to investigate the mechanical rationality of tree morphology remains to be established. The aim of this study was to develop a new method for 3D reconstruction of actual tree shape and to establish a theoretical formulation for elucidating the structure and function of tree branches. We obtained 3D point cloud data of tree shape of Japanese zelkova (Zelkova serrata) and Japanese larch (Larix kaempferi) using the NavVis Lidar scanner, then applied a cylinder structure extraction from point cloud data with error estimation. We then formulated the mechanical stress of branches under gravity using the elastic theory, and performed finite element method simulations to evaluate the mechanical characteristics. Subsequently, we constructed a mechanics-based theoretical formulation of branch development that ensures constant bending stress produces various branching patterns depending on growth properties. The derived theory recapitulates the trade-off among branch growth anisotropy, stress-gravity length, and branch shape, which may open the quantitative way to evaluate mechanical and morphological rationality of tree branches.
AB - Trees are thought to have acquired a mechanically optimized shape through evolution, but a scientific methodology to investigate the mechanical rationality of tree morphology remains to be established. The aim of this study was to develop a new method for 3D reconstruction of actual tree shape and to establish a theoretical formulation for elucidating the structure and function of tree branches. We obtained 3D point cloud data of tree shape of Japanese zelkova (Zelkova serrata) and Japanese larch (Larix kaempferi) using the NavVis Lidar scanner, then applied a cylinder structure extraction from point cloud data with error estimation. We then formulated the mechanical stress of branches under gravity using the elastic theory, and performed finite element method simulations to evaluate the mechanical characteristics. Subsequently, we constructed a mechanics-based theoretical formulation of branch development that ensures constant bending stress produces various branching patterns depending on growth properties. The derived theory recapitulates the trade-off among branch growth anisotropy, stress-gravity length, and branch shape, which may open the quantitative way to evaluate mechanical and morphological rationality of tree branches.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85126080813&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85126080813&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1038/s41598-022-08030-5
DO - 10.1038/s41598-022-08030-5
M3 - Article
C2 - 35260741
AN - SCOPUS:85126080813
SN - 2045-2322
VL - 12
JO - Scientific Reports
JF - Scientific Reports
IS - 1
M1 - 4054
ER -