Abstract
Invasive nonnative species that have successfully spread outside their native range are an increasing global problem. They threat native species and cause economic loss in agriculture, aquaculture and forestry. To be able to effectively control for invaders, there is a need to reliably predict population dynamics in different environments into the future, and to identify the life stages with the most potential for control actions. The previous studies have often neglected density dependence and environmental variability in the population models of invasive plant species, although their inclusion is essential to be able to predict population dynamics precisely. This project aims at improving the reliability of population models for invasive plant species. The project will combine an experimental and modelling approach focusing on the following two main themes. 1) To determine the role of density dependence in population dynamics under environmental variability. 2) To identify the life stages of invasive plants with the most potential for control actions. The proposed research will produce significant novel information on density dependence and the use of different population models, and will increase the knowledge of the demography of invasive plant species helping focus management actions. In addition to invasive species, the results can be applied to conservation biology in order to model rare and endangered plant populations.
Sweden