Dynamics of weed populations By Roger Cousens and Martin Mortimer ISBN 0521499690, published in1995 by Cambridge University Press, soft cover, 332 pages Price $A95.00 plus $A11 postage within Australia, overseas postage please request a quote

The potential for weeds to affect the livelihoods of agricultural producers and to reduce endemic biodiversity is widely recognized. But what are the ecological attributes of weeds that confer this ability to interfere with human activities?

Until recently, the discipline of weed science has developed almost exclusively as an empirical subject with an emphasis on optimizing the performance of herbicides. Roger Cousens and Martin Mortimer place weed management within an ecological context, in which the focus is on the manipulation of population size. The dynamics of abundance and spacial distribution are considered at both geographic and local scales. The basic processes of weed dispersal, reproduction and mortality are described, together with the factors that influence them. Management is known to modify patterns of behaviour that are intrinsic to populations. This is done with the aid of simple models and an extensive review of the literature. Special attention is given to the evolution and management of resistance to herbicides.

This book provides weed scientists with a conceptual framework. It also gives ecologists access to the extensive database on the population ecology of weeds.

Table of contents

• Preface
• 1. Weed population dynamics - the framework
• 2. The dynamics of geographic range expansion
• 3. Dispersal within and between populations
• 4. Processes involved in the regulation of population density
• 5. The instrinsic dynamics of population density
• 6. Extrinsic factors affecting population density
• 7. The spatial dynamics of weed populations
• 8. The evolution of herbicide resistance
• 9. Weed population dynamics: synthesis and prognosis
• References
• Organism index
• Subject index