Weed population dynamics for contrasting organic pasture establishment techniques

Organic fields sustain weed metacommunity dynamics in farmland landscapes.

Agro-ecosystems constitute essential habitat for many organisms. Agricultural intensification, however, has caused a strong decline of farmland biodiversity. Organic farming (OF) is often presented as a more biodiversity-friendly practice, but the generality of the beneficial effects of OF is debated as the effects appear often species- and context-dependent, and current research has highlighte...

PLANTWORLD: Population Dynamics in Contrasting Environments

PLANTWORLD was developed to examine the effects of including evolvable phenotypic behaviour in ecological models and the resultant population dynamics in contrasting (stable vs. disturbed) environments. It also demonstrates some interesting and biologically plausible feedbacks between population attributes and evolutionary dynamics. PLANTWORLD represents a state-of-the-art A-Life system for int...

Combining a weed traits database with a population dynamics model predicts shifts in weed communities

A functional approach to predicting shifts in weed floras in response to management or environmental change requires the combination of data on weed traits with analytical frameworks that capture the filtering effect of selection pressures on traits. A weed traits database (WTDB) was designed, populated and analysed, initially using data for 19 common European weeds, to begin to consolidate tra...

Weed Biology and Weed Management in Organic Farming

Organic Weed Management in Walnut Orchards

Controlling weeds in organic farming systems requires the use of many techniques and strategies in order to achieve economically acceptable weed control and yields. Weeds can always be pulled or cut out, but the question is simply how much can a grower spend in terms of time and money to reduce weed pressure. The more a grower is able to reduce weed pressure (seed and perennial propagules) the ...