Abstract
The aim of the proposed project is to integrate landscape modelling with metapopulation modelling to i) provide a deeper understanding of how to preserve threatened species inhabiting habitats which are patchy and in which each patch have a limited life-time, ii) study the extinction debt, i.e. analyze to what extent the current occurrence patterns reflect the historical amount of habitat, iii) initiate an integration of landscape, metapopulation and economic modelling to provide a tool for finding landscape management strategies which preserve biodiversity in a cost-effective way. As a model system I will mainly work with old trees in agricultural landscapes. In that landscape, the beetle Osmoderma eremita is the main model species. I studied O. eremita empirically as a Ph.D. student. I simulate the metapopulation dynamics taking into account the creation and destruction of suitable habitat patches. For that reason I model the dynamics of the trees. To make that possible I conduct empirical studies of the age structure and occurrence of hollows in oak stands.
Sweden