User:Cesj05

Simulation concept – Invasive Plant Species vs. Native Plants vs. Herbivores Jan César (cesj05)

Objectives:

Understand the dynamics of competition between invasive plant species and native plants in a shared environment

Explore the conditions under which either the invasive species dominates, coexists, or fails to establish.

Environment:

Each patch represents a piece of land that can grow either a natrive or invasive plant (or remain empty)

Plants compete for resources on each path

Agents:

Native Plants: Slower growth but more resistant to herbivores or harsh conditions.

Invasive Plants: Faster growth and higher seed dispersal rate but less resistant to herbivores.

Herbivores: Agents that eat plants, with a preference for invasive or native species (modifiable by the user).

Methods

Initialization:

Randomly populate the grid with a mix of invasive and native plants.

Set up resource levels for each patch.

Place herbivores randomly across the grid.

Simulation Steps (Turtles/Agents):

Each plant (agent) checks:

Whether it has resources to grow or reproduce.

If conditions are favorable, it spreads seeds to nearby patches.

Herbivores move and consume plants on the patches they visit.

Competition between plants on shared patches determines which survives.

Interaction Dynamics: Modify the probability of herbivory or the effectiveness of seed dispersal as sliders to explore different scenarios.

The simulation will be done in NetLogo, as for the data, it will not be used from real world, but it will be set up, so the behaviour of agents will be as close as it can to real life (this will be based on real life data, or on information for example how fast does some X Y invasive plant grow in comparison to native plant etc...)

This simulation can be used by gardeners trying to maintain their garden.