Weed ecology and population dynamics

Authors: DAVIS, ADAM

Submitted to: Book Chapter
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/28/2016
Publication Date: 1/10/2018
Citation: Davis, A.S. 2018. Weed ecology and population dynamics. In: Zimdahl, J., editor. Integrated Weed Management for Sustainable Agriculture. Cambridge, UK: Burleigh Dodd Publishing. p. 1-25.

Interpretive Summary: Agricultural trends, including a global rise in herbicide resistant weed genotypes and a growing demand for food produced with minimal external synthetic inputs, are driving producer interest in reducing reliance on herbicides for weed management. An improved understanding of weed ecology can support the design of weed suppressive agroecosystems. This chapter explores current scientific knowledge of ecological levels of organization, including populations, communities and agroecosystems, relevant to the study and management of agricultural weeds. A population dynamics framework for targeting management tactics to specific weed life stages is presented, and its applicability to solving real-world weed management problems is demonstrated in a case study of mitigating the invasive potential of an exotic bioenergy crop species.

Technical Abstract: A global rise in herbicide resistant weed genotypes, coupled with a growing demand for food produced with minimal external synthetic inputs, is driving producer interest in reducing reliance on herbicides for weed management. An improved understanding of weed ecology can support the design of weed suppressive agroecosystems. This chapter explores current scientific knowledge of ecological levels of organization, including populations, communities and agroecosystems, relevant to the study and management of agricultural weeds. A population dynamics framework for targeting management tactics to specific weed life stages is presented, and its applicability to solving real-world weed management problems is demonstrated in a case study of mitigating the invasive potential of an exotic bioenergy crop species. Core design principles for constructing a successful ecological approach to weed management include location, species and crop-centric management approaches, identifying target transitions through demographic models to couple management tactics with vulnerable weed life-stages, spreading opportunities for weed management throughout weed life cycles, and understanding the abiotic, biotic and management factors that promote growth and competition by different weed species.