Valuation of the cost of a weed incursion in a natural environment: a simulation approach

Abstract

The damage that weeds inflict on natural ecosystems over time reduces the flow of services from these areas, thus reducing the flow of benefits to society. A simulation model of a natural ecosystem is a useful tool to analyse the effects of an alien plant invasion over time. Such an approach is developed here to apply the theory of production economics to value the damage through a dynamic bioeconomic model. The approach integrates the principles of benefit-cost analysis to value the costs of the incursion and the benefits of control.