I present three models of plant--pathogen interactions. The models are stochastic
and spatially explicit at the scale of individual plants. For each model, I use a version
of pair approximation or moment closure along with a separation of timescales argument to
determine the effects of spatial clustering on threshold structure. By computing the
spatial structure early in an invasion, I find explicit corrections to mean field theory.
In the first chapter, I present a lattice model of a disease that is not directly lethal to
its host, but affects its ability to compete with neighbors. I use a type of pair
approximation to determine conditions for invasions and coexistence. In the second chapter,
I study a basic SIR epidemic point process in continuous space. I implement a
multiplicative moment closure scheme to compute the threshold transmission rate as a
function of spatial parameters. In the final chapter, I model the evolution of pathogen
resistance when two plant species share a pathogen. Evolution may lead to non--resistance
by a host that finds the disease to be a useful weapon. I use a lattice model with the
ordinary pair approximation assumption to study phenotypic evolution via repeated invasions
by novel strains.