Installing PlantSimEngine​#

Install Julia from the official download page, create a project environment (a folder that records the packages used for this simulation), and install the tutorial packages:

using Pkg
Pkg.activate("my_simulation")
Pkg.add(["PlantMeteo", "DataFrames", "CairoMakie"])
Pkg.add(url="https://github.com/VirtualPlantLab/PlantSimEngine.jl", rev="main")

PlantMeteo supplies weather data, DataFrames organizes the results, and CairoMakie draws the tutorial figures. Run these commands at Julia's interactive prompt, also called the REPL; my_simulation is the project directory created relative to your current working directory. In a later session, run Pkg.activate("my_simulation") from the same location before using the project again.

For reproducible work, record the package revision and keep the generated Project.toml and Manifest.toml with your experiment. The development branch can change; a commit revision selects one exact version.

First Simulation​#

This small example calculates how much light a canopy absorbs. Its leaf area index is 2 m² of leaves per m² of ground, and incoming photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) is 500 W m⁻² of ground. The canopy is one simulated object; individual leaves are not represented.

using PlantSimEngine, PlantMeteo, Dates
using PlantSimEngine.Examples

meteo = Atmosphere(
    T=20.0,
    Wind=1.0,
    Rh=0.65,
    Ri_PAR_f=500.0,
    duration=Hour(1),
)

model = CompositeModel(
    Beer(0.5);
    status=(LAI=2.0,),
    id=:canopy,
    scale=:Canopy,
    environment=meteo,
)

simulation = run!(model)
(absorbed_PAR_umol_m2_ground_s=final_state(simulation).aPPFD,)

using PlantSimEngine.Examples loads the example models, including Beer. These models are included for learning and testing.

The result is the amount of light absorbed by the canopy, expressed in μmol of photons per m² of ground per second. The inputs are illustrative, not a calibrated crop scenario. Next, couple three models over time, then collect and plot their outputs.

For local package development, use Pkg.develop(path="..."). Run the package tests with Pkg.test("PlantSimEngine").