Economic analysis of biological invasions in forests

Biological invasions of native forests by nonnative pests result from complex stochastic processes that are difficult to predict. Although economic optimization models describe efficient controls across the stages of an invasion, the ability to calibrate such models is constrained by lack of information on pest population dynamics and consequent economic damages. Here we describe economic approaches for analyzing pre-invasion and post-invasion management of biological invasions under conditions of risk and uncertainty and emphasize the need for new microeconomic and aggregate studies of economic damages across gradients of forest types and ownerships.