A fully coupled functional-structural plant-soil modelling platform

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Model Overview

CPlantBox creates plant geometry from parameter sets and can incorporate feedback from external functional models. This flexibility supports model coupling, plant-soil-atmosphere interaction modelling, and complex Python-based workflows that integrate environmental feedback.

Plant Geometry

Generate parameter-driven, growing plant architectures for your simulation studies.

Process Simulation

Use mechanistic process descriptions to simulate water and carbon flow within the plant, photosynthesis, and root-soil interactions.

Model Coupling

Connect CPlantBox to external functional models and environmental feedback loops to build coupled plant-soil-atmosphere workflows.

Gallery

Plant Structure CPlantBox geometry example Plant Structure
Multiple plant structures Multi-plant setup
Root water uptake from soil visualization Root water uptake from soil
Root order structure visualization Root topology
Complex container geometries Complex container geometries
Root system SUF and Krs graph Root system SUF & Krs

Try the Web App

Screenshot of the CPlantBox web app

The WebApp showcases the plant geometry generation of CPlantBox, and provides an interactive interface to visualize and experiment with plant parameters.

Open Web App

Installation

Start from the GitHub repository today. We are currently developing an installation option via Python wheels, coming soon.

Source and documentation

The current installation manual can be found in the CPlantBox GitHub repository.

View GitHub

Python wheel installation

A wheel-based installation path is currently in development.

Wheel Instructions Coming Soon

Resources

Tutorial

Check out our illustrated CPlantBox examples in our published tutorial, including code snippets and step-by-step explanations. The tutorial walks through workflows from simple plant geometry to fully coupled simulations.

Tutorial Coming Soon

CPlantBox Lecture

Watch an introductory lecture on CPlantBox and its modelling concepts on YouTube. The video opens externally only after clicking the link.

Watch Lecture

Publications

Key references for CPlantBox. If you use the model, please cite DOI: 10.1093/insilicoplants/diad009.

CPlantBox: a fully coupled modelling platform

M. Giraud, S. L. Gall, M. Harings, M. Javaux, D. Leitner, F. Meunier, Y. Rothfuss, D. van Dusschoten, J. Vanderborght, H. Vereecken, et al. in silico Plants, 5(2):diad009, 2023.

DOI: 10.1093/insilicoplants/diad009

CPlantBox: a whole-plant modelling framework

X. R. Zhou, A. Schnepf, J. Vanderborght, D. Leitner, A. Lacointe, H. Vereecken, and G. Lobet. in silico Plants, 2(1), 2020.

DOI: 10.1093/insilicoplants/diaa001

CRootBox: a structural-functional modelling framework

A. Schnepf, D. Leitner, M. Landl, G. Lobet, T. H. Mai, S. Morandage, C. Sheng, M. Zörner, J. Vanderborght, and H. Vereecken. Annals of Botany, 121(5):1033-1053, 2018.

DOI: 10.1093/aob/mcx221

Tutorial paper

A CPlantBox tutorial paper is currently in preparation.

About

CPlantBox is a functional-structural plant model developed at Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, IBG-3, in the lab of Andrea Schnepf.

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