Optimal Resource Allocation for Invasive Species Control: Two Decision Criteria for Site Prioritization
Invasive species management is often guided by the implicit assumption that minimizing the invaded population will concurrently minimize the economic and ecological damages it causes. However, this alignment is challenged when damages are spatially heterogeneous, raising a critical question for envi...
Сохранить в:
| Главные авторы: | , |
|---|---|
| Формат: | Article ou chapitre numérique |
| Язык: | Français |
| Опубликовано: |
2026
|
| Предметы: | |
| Online-ссылка: | Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM |
| Итог: | Invasive species management is often guided by the implicit assumption that minimizing the invaded population will concurrently minimize the economic and ecological
damages it causes. However, this alignment is challenged when damages are spatially
heterogeneous, raising a critical question for environmental managers: should limited
control budgets prioritize sites to minimize invasion state or damage? This paper
defines and compares two simple cost-effective decision criteria for site prioritization:
an invasion-minimization criterion, which targets sites based on their per-unit-cost contribution to future invasion spread, and a damage-minimization criterion, which targets
sites based on their per-unit-cost contribution to future damages. We solve analytically
the two optimization problems and derive the restrictive theoretical conditions under
which these criteria yield identical rankings. Applying these criteria to the management
of Primrose willow (Genus Ludwigia) in the Brière Regional Park in France, we demonstrate that for a realistic budget, the two criteria lead to starkly different spatial allocations of effort. The damage-minimization criteria concentrates resources in a few high-value, highly invaded areas, while the invasion-minimization criteria spreads effort
across many more, less valued areas to curb overall invasion state. Our analysis reveals
that the common managerial practice of prioritizing population reduction may not align
with damage reduction objectives unless damages are uniform or dispersal networks
are trivial. |
|---|