IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/ecomod/v504y2025ics030438002500081x.html

Spatially explicit modelling of woody plant encroachment: A review of models published from 2013 through 2022

Author

Listed:
  • Peterson, Miranda R.
  • Wang, Hsiao-Hsuan
  • Grant, William E.

Abstract

Grasslands cover approximately one-third-of the earth's land area, and many have been degraded by woody plant encroachment. A variety of spatially explicit simulation models have been developed to investigate different aspects of woody plant encroachment. In this study, we review the spatially explicit models of woody plant encroachment published from 2013 through 2022. We characterize the models regarding their nomenclature, focal geographical area, spatial and temporal scales, purpose, origin, and key processes. We then summarize our findings and provide some observations regarding the importance of spatially explicit models for representing the key factors and processes influencing woody plant encroachment.

Suggested Citation

  • Peterson, Miranda R. & Wang, Hsiao-Hsuan & Grant, William E., 2025. "Spatially explicit modelling of woody plant encroachment: A review of models published from 2013 through 2022," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 504(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecomod:v:504:y:2025:i:c:s030438002500081x
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2025.111095
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S030438002500081X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2025.111095?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Wallentin, Gudrun, 2017. "Spatial simulation: A spatial perspective on individual-based ecology—a review," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 350(C), pages 30-41.
    2. Djeumen, I.V. Yatat & Dumont, Y. & Doizy, A. & Couteron, P., 2021. "A minimalistic model of vegetation physiognomies in the savanna biome," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 440(C).
    3. Pfeiffer, Mirjam & Langan, Liam & Linstädter, Anja & Martens, Carola & Gaillard, Camille & Ruppert, Jan C. & Higgins, Steven I. & Mudongo, Edwin I. & Scheiter, Simon, 2019. "Grazing and aridity reduce perennial grass abundance in semi-arid rangelands – Insights from a trait-based dynamic vegetation model," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 395(C), pages 11-22.
    4. Wang, Hsiao-Hsuan & Grant, William E. & Birt, Andrew G. & Wilcox, Bradford P., 2025. "Modeling rangelands as complex adaptive socio-ecological systems: An agent-based model of pyric herbivory," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 501(C).
    5. Grimm, Volker & Augusiak, Jacqueline & Focks, Andreas & Frank, Béatrice M. & Gabsi, Faten & Johnston, Alice S.A. & Liu, Chun & Martin, Benjamin T. & Meli, Mattia & Radchuk, Viktoriia & Thorbek, Pernil, 2014. "Towards better modelling and decision support: Documenting model development, testing, and analysis using TRACE," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 280(C), pages 129-139.
    6. Scheller, Robert M. & Domingo, James B. & Sturtevant, Brian R. & Williams, Jeremy S. & Rudy, Arnold & Gustafson, Eric J. & Mladenoff, David J., 2007. "Design, development, and application of LANDIS-II, a spatial landscape simulation model with flexible temporal and spatial resolution," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 201(3), pages 409-419.
    7. Tietjen, Britta, 2016. "Same rainfall amount different vegetation—How environmental conditions and their interactions influence savanna dynamics," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 326(C), pages 13-22.
    8. Curth, Mónica de Torres & Gonzalez, Sofía & Franzese, Jorgelina & Zimmerman, Viviana & Sáez, Agustín & Ghermandi, Luciana, 2024. "How to be a successful shrub in northwestern Patagonia grasslands: Population dynamics of Senecio bracteolatus in a fire prone ecosystem," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 496(C).
    9. Bruce Edmonds & Christophe Le Page & Mike Bithell & Edmund Chattoe-Brown & Volker Grimm & Ruth Meyer & Cristina Montañola-Sales & Paul Ormerod & Hilton Root & Flaminio Squazzoni, 2019. "Different Modelling Purposes," Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation, Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation, vol. 22(3), pages 1-6.
    10. Grimm, Volker & Berger, Uta & DeAngelis, Donald L. & Polhill, J. Gary & Giske, Jarl & Railsback, Steven F., 2010. "The ODD protocol: A review and first update," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 221(23), pages 2760-2768.
    11. Wang, Hsiao-Hsuan & Van Voorn, George & Grant, William E. & Zare, Fateme & Giupponi, Carlo & Steinmann, Patrick & Müller, Birgit & Elsawah, Sondoss & van Delden, Hedwig & Athanasiadis, Ioannis N. & Su, 2023. "Scale decisions and good practices in socio-environmental systems modelling: Guidance and documentation during problem scoping and model formulation," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 5, pages 1-1.
    12. Accatino, Francesco & Wiegand, Kerstin & Ward, David & De Michele, Carlo, 2016. "Trees, grass, and fire in humid savannas—The importance of life history traits and spatial processes," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 320(C), pages 135-144.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Fitts, Lucia A. & Fraser, Jacob S. & Miranda, Brian R. & Domke, Grant M. & Russell, Matthew B. & Sturtevant, Brian R., 2023. "An iterative site-scale approach to calibrate and corroborate successional processes within a forest landscape model," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 477(C).
    2. Troost, Christian & Huber, Robert & Bell, Andrew R. & van Delden, Hedwig & Filatova, Tatiana & Le, Quang Bao & Lippe, Melvin & Niamir, Leila & Polhill, J. Gareth & Sun, Zhanli & Berger, Thomas, 2023. "How to keep it adequate: A protocol for ensuring validity in agent-based simulation," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 159, pages 1-21.
    3. Planque, Benjamin & Aarflot, Johanna M. & Buttay, Lucie & Carroll, JoLynn & Fransner, Filippa & Hansen, Cecilie & Husson, Bérengère & Langangen, Øystein & Lindstrøm, Ulf & Pedersen, Torstein & Primice, 2022. "A standard protocol for describing the evaluation of ecological models," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 471(C).
    4. Lemmen, Carsten & Sommer, Philipp Sebastian, 2024. "Good modelling software practices," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 498(C).
    5. Lorscheid, Iris & Meyer, Matthias, 2016. "Divide and conquer: Configuring submodels for valid and efficient analyses of complex simulation models," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 326(C), pages 152-161.
    6. Watson, Joseph W & Boyd, Robin & Dutta, Ritabrata & Vasdekis, Georgios & Walker, Nicola D. & Roy, Shovonlal & Everitt, Richard & Hyder, Kieran & Sibly, Richard M, 2022. "Incorporating environmental variability in a spatially-explicit individual-based model of European sea bass✰," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 466(C).
    7. Grimm, Volker & Berger, Uta, 2016. "Structural realism, emergence, and predictions in next-generation ecological modelling: Synthesis from a special issue," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 326(C), pages 177-187.
    8. Boult, Victoria L. & Quaife, Tristan & Fishlock, Vicki & Moss, Cynthia J. & Lee, Phyllis C. & Sibly, Richard M., 2018. "Individual-based modelling of elephant population dynamics using remote sensing to estimate food availability," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 387(C), pages 187-195.
    9. Walker, Nicola D. & Boyd, Robin & Watson, Joseph & Kotz, Max & Radford, Zachary & Readdy, Lisa & Sibly, Richard & Roy, Shovonlal & Hyder, Kieran, 2020. "A spatially explicit individual-based model to support management of commercial and recreational fisheries for European sea bass Dicentrarchus labrax," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 431(C).
    10. Jette Reeg & Simon Heine & Christine Mihan & Sean McGee & Thomas G Preuss & Florian Jeltsch, 2020. "Herbicide risk assessments of non-target terrestrial plant communities: A graphical user interface for the plant community model IBC-grass," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(3), pages 1-18, March.
    11. Ayllón, Daniel & Railsback, Steven F. & Vincenzi, Simone & Groeneveld, Jürgen & Almodóvar, Ana & Grimm, Volker, 2016. "InSTREAM-Gen: Modelling eco-evolutionary dynamics of trout populations under anthropogenic environmental change," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 326(C), pages 36-53.
    12. Grimm, Volker & Berger, Uta & Calabrese, Justin M. & Cortés-Avizanda, Ainara & Ferrer, Jordi & Franz, Mathias & Groeneveld, Jürgen & Hartig, Florian & Jakoby, Oliver & Jovani, Roger & Kramer-Schadt, S, 2025. "Using the ODD protocol and NetLogo to replicate agent-based models," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 501(C).
    13. Lamonica, Dominique & Herbach, Ulysse & Orias, Frédéric & Clément, Bernard & Charles, Sandrine & Lopes, Christelle, 2016. "Mechanistic modelling of daphnid-algae dynamics within a laboratory microcosm," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 320(C), pages 213-230.
    14. Boyd, Robin & Roy, Shovonlal & Sibly, Richard & Thorpe, Robert & Hyder, Kieran, 2018. "A general approach to incorporating spatial and temporal variation in individual-based models of fish populations with application to Atlantic mackerel," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 382(C), pages 9-17.
    15. Crouse, Kristin N. & Desai, Nisarg P. & Cassidy, Kira A. & Stahler, Erin E. & Lehman, Clarence L. & Wilson, Michael L., 2022. "Larger territories reduce mortality risk for chimpanzees, wolves, and agents: Multiple lines of evidence in a model validation framework," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 471(C).
    16. Micheletti, Tatiane & Wimmler, Marie-Christin & Berger, Uta & Grimm, Volker & McIntire, Eliot J., 2024. "Beyond guides, protocols and acronyms: Adoption of good modelling practices depends on challenging academia's status quo in ecology," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 496(C).
    17. Chudzinska, Magda & Nabe-Nielsen, Jacob & Smout, Sophie & Aarts, Geert & Brasseur, Sophie & Graham, Isla & Thompson, Paul & McConnell, Bernie, 2021. "AgentSeal: Agent-based model describing movement of marine central-place foragers," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 440(C).
    18. Langhammer, Maria & Thober, Jule & Lange, Martin & Frank, Karin & Grimm, Volker, 2019. "Agricultural landscape generators for simulation models: A review of existing solutions and an outline of future directions," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 393(C), pages 135-151.
    19. An, Li & Grimm, Volker & Sullivan, Abigail & Turner II, B.L. & Malleson, Nicolas & Heppenstall, Alison & Vincenot, Christian & Robinson, Derek & Ye, Xinyue & Liu, Jianguo & Lindkvist, Emilie & Tang, W, 2021. "Challenges, tasks, and opportunities in modeling agent-based complex systems," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 457(C).
    20. King, Elizabeth G. & Franz, Trenton E., 2016. "Combining ecohydrologic and transition probability-based modeling to simulate vegetation dynamics in a semi-arid rangeland," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 329(C), pages 41-63.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:ecomod:v:504:y:2025:i:c:s030438002500081x. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/ecological-modelling .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.