Dynamics of a plant–herbivore model

Abstract

We formulate a simple host–parasite type model to study the interaction of certain plants and herbivores. Our two-dimensional discrete-time model utilizes leaf and herbivore biomass as state variables. The parameter space consists of the growth rate of the host population and a parameter describing the damage inflicted by herbivores. We present insightful bifurcation diagrams in that parameter space. Bistability and a crisis of a strange attractor suggest two control strategies: reducing the population of the herbivore under some threshold or increasing the growth rate of the plant leaves.