VS-Cambium-Developer: A New Approach to Modeling the Functioning of the Cambial Zone of Conifers under the Influence of Environmental Factors

One of the fundamental problems of modern ecology is assessment of the response of woody plants to environmental effects under changing climate conditions on Earth. Various simulation models of tree ring growth can serve as an effective tool for solving this problem. We have proposed a new simulation model for the functioning of cambium, which reproduces the process of cambial activity of coniferous species of woody plants, depending on the action of the key climatic factors. It is based on the hypothesis of the presence of a cytoplasmic inhibitor of cell differentiation, the functioning of which is limited by temperature, moisture, and illumination. The new algorithm was developed based on the existing cambial block of the Vaganov–Shashkin simulation model of tree ring growth (VS-model). The model has been tested based on indirect observations of the functioning of the cambium of coniferous woody plants in southern Siberia (Republic of Khakassia), namely, on the measured seasonal cell production from 1964 to 2012. A software implementation of the new cambial model based on the R. Shiny technology, which can be easily adapted to the on-line platform of the VS-model, is proposed. The developed widgets (process visualization tools) make it possible to track the growth dynamics of the cambial zone to an accuracy of one-hundredth of a day.