Search

As description of enamel microstructure in mammals is mainly performed through 2D sections, interpretations of its formation and development can be misinterpreted by neglecting the complexity of its 3D arrangement. Through Simulenam, a novel software dedicated to the simulation of enamel prisms, and an updated, integrative model of decussation formation, we managed to transform 2D observations of enamel sections into full 3D representations of hippopotamoid enamel microstructure. This allowed us to reinterpret the 2D morphological characters of these taxa into geometric parameters and put a new light on how they evolved through time, with potential implications on their cellular origins - essential steps for furthering our understanding of enamel. Indeed, we also demonstrated that some of these characters could actually be non-homologous across taxa, and that there is at least two fundamentally different ways to produce enamel prism decussation in mammals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In agroforestry systems, the distribution of light transmitted under tree canopies can be a limiting factor for the development of intercrops. The light available for intercrops depends on the quantity of light intercepted by tree canopies and, consequently, on the architecture of the tree species present. The influence of tree architecture on light transmission was analysed using dynamic 3D architectural models. The architectural analysis of Acacia mangium and Tectona grandis was performed in Indonesian agroforestry systems with trees aged from 1 to 3 years. 3D virtual trees were then generated with the AmapSim simulation software and 3D virtual experiments in which tree age, planting density, planting pattern and pruning intensity varied were reconstructed in order to simulate light available for the crop. Canopy closure of trees was more rapid in A. mangium than in T. grandis agroforestry systems; after 3 years the quantity of light available for A. mangium intercrops was three times lower than under T. grandis. Simulations with A. mangium showed that practices such as pruning and widening tree spacing enable to increase the total transmitted light within the stand. On T. grandis, modification of the tree row azimuth resulted in changes in the spatial and seasonal distribution of light available for the intercrops. These results are discussed in terms of agroforestry system management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]