A spatially explicit Markovian individual-based model for terrestrial plant dynamics

Abstract

An individual-based model (IBM) of a spatiotemporal terrestrial ecological population is proposed. This model is spatially explicit and features the position of each individual together with another characteristic, such as the size of the individual, which evolves according to a given stochastic model. The population is locally regulated through an explicit competition kernel. The IBM is represented as a measure-valued branching/diffusing stochastic process. The approach allows (i) to describe the associated Monte Carlo simulation and (ii) to analyze the limit process under large initial population size asymptotic. The limit macroscopic model is a deterministic integro-differential equation.