  Invasive alien species are a growing threat for environment and health. They
also have a major economic impact, as they can damage many infrastructures. The
Japanese knotweed (Fallopia japonica), present in North America, Northern and
Central Europe as well as in Australia and New Zealand, is listed by the World
Conservation Union as one of the world's worst invasive species. So far, most
models have dealt with how the invasion spreads without management. This paper
aims at providing a model able to study and predict the dynamics of a stand of
Japanese knotweed taking into account mowing as a management technique. The
model we propose is stochastic and individual-based, which allows us taking
into account the behaviour of individuals depending on their size and location,
as well as individual stochasticity. We set plant dynamics parameters thanks to
a calibration with field data, and study the influence of the initial
population size, the mean number of mowing events a year and the management
project duration on mean area and mean number of crowns of stands. In
particular, our results provide the sets of parameters for which it is possible
to obtain the stand eradication, and the minimal duration of the management
project necessary to achieve this latter.
