Salal (Gaultheria shallon) harvest: A plant architecture model

Salal (Gaultheria shallon Pursh) is an evergreen shrub whose foliage is commercially harvested. An L-systems model of salal growth was developed to illustrate the effects of internode growth and axillary bud development on the architecture of individual salal plants. A Java program was then used to create an object-oriented salal model from the L-system structure. The object-oriented Java model was better able to construct the shoot parent–child relationships required for implementation of salal harvesters’ decision-making criteria than was the L-system approach which was better suited for modelling the plant growth and visualization. The visualization capabilities illustrated model performance that was consistent with field experiences, but relationships of salal growth to self-shading as well as overstory conditions require quantification before harvest effects on sustainability can be fully determined.