Modeling the spatial and temporal dispersal of Cuscuta europea (Cuscutaceae)

Cuscuta species are interestingly behaving plant parasites of very different plant communities all over the world. Under warmer climate conditions they can act as dangerous pests, while in the northern countries they are considered as threatened species. Moreover these plants have a special strategy to find their host, called foraging. Chemical clues emitted by the host plants attract the parasite shoots to the most proper host. Recent papers investigate the host preference of Cuscuta species. In our research, we examine the appearing spatial patterns with both experimental and modelling tools. Our objective is to reproduce this phenomenon in the virtual space and find the model, which best describes the emerging spatial patterns. For the modelling cellular automata are used, which are commonly used tools in spatial ecology. These are spatially explicit dynamic models, where both time and space are discrete. The graphical representation is a squared lattice. Every square – also called cell – in the lattice has a state (e.g. soil, plant, parasite) represented with an appropriate colour. In this paper we present the results of our field observations as well as the mathematical models considered.