A Mathematical Model of Interrelationships between Plants and Herbivorous Mammals with the Trophic Type of Regulation
A mathematical model of interaction between host plants and herbivorous mammals is developed. The model describes the main biological processes in the plant cover and a population of herbivores. The submodel of vegetation describes the dynamics of plant productivity related to environmental factors and the inﬂuence of solar radiation ﬂux and available soil moisture on the material, energy and water balances of the plant cover. The submodel of an animal population describes interrelationships between the forage reserves and the consumption rate, body mass, fertility, mortality and productivity of a population. The trophic type of regulation brings into accordance the number of a population with the plant production. In addition, the population has a regulating effect on the bottom trophic level - the plant cover. Based on the model developed, the inﬂuence of population parameters and vegetation on the production characteristics of the population was studied. In addition, using the model, the effects of vegetation on the population production parameters under sufficient moistening were analyzed. The analysis of the model showed that the increase in fertility or decrease in the mortality of animals at the high density of fodder plants cause a reduction in the productivity of the population; at the low density of the plant cover, it leads to its rise.