| We use a bang-bang optimal control model to derive a rule of thumb for an optimal management of invasive weeds, in terms of the marginal benefits and costs of various control actions. Instead of determining the size of infestation under an optimal surveillance measure, the rule specifies the types of land where an invasive weed should be first prevented from establishment, and under what conditions control should be initiated. The types of land are modeled via the heterogeneous vulnerability of land to the weed and likely infestation. This easy-to-use rule is applied to determine how hawkweed should be controlled in Australia, across three potential control strategies: containment, eradication and no action. We investigate this rule-of-thumb in both... |
