Uncertain control of dynamic economic threshold in pest management

This paper develops a theoretical concept of uncertain control of an ecological-economic system in pest management. Uncertainty arises from imperfect knowledge of system inputs and inaccuracies in mathematical modeling, such as uncertainty about the population function of predators and prey, the effect of chemical and biological control instruments, and the nature of weather conditions. By using the Lyapunov theory and the adaptive control concept, the present paper shows that the Dynamic Economic Threshold of optimal control is a special case of uncertain control. Ecological and economic targets can be reached harmoniously under some reasonable constraints. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.