Spatial distribution of invading weeds: implications for detectability and management

摘要

A series of spatially explicit simulations were conducted to examine factors that affect early detection of an invading weed, three-horned bedstraw (Galium tricornutum Dandy), in a paddock and potentially reduce further spread of the weed beyond the paddock in the harvester or as a contaminant of grain. The factors examined were the degree of movement of weed seed by harvesting equipment and the characteristics of the spatial distribution of the weed that may affect detection of the weed by the farmer. Reducing the median distance of spread of the weed by the harvester was found to reduce the probability that weed seed would be exported from the paddock in the harvester. Reducing spread by the harvester also increased the rate of population build-upwithin weed patches and reduced the proportion of the paddock infested, thereby affecting the probability of early detection.