Satellite remote sensing data may be particularly useful in monitoring the “ink disease” epidemic in Italian forests. This is shown by a study, published in the journal Remote Sensing Applications: Society and Environment, conducted by scientists from the National Research Council’s Institute for Research on Terrestrial Ecosystems (CNR-IRET), in collaboration with the University of Tuscia and the Eberswalde University of Sustainable Development. The research team used satellite remote sensing data to monitor ink disease in chestnut and cork oak forests in central Italy. Caused by the pathogen Phytophthora cinnamomi, this condition is widespread in the Mediterranean area, experts explain, and can lead, in severe cases, to complete decay of the plant. As part of the investigation, the researchers used Sentinel 2 and PlanetScope multispectral sensors and Sentinel 1 radar to distinguish between healthy and diseased trees, attributing varying degrees of infection (severe, moderate or not present) to the canopies. The red and near-infrared bands have proven particularly effective in detecting the spread of the disease. The size of the canopies to be monitored, the scholars pointed out, can significantly affect the choice of the most appropriate sensors. The work shows that although diseased specimens can be clearly distinguished from healthy ones, discrimination between different levels of disease severity is less accurate. The approach used, the researchers comment, highlights the potential of remote sensing as a central tool for forest health management, especially in Mediterranean settings, where climate change emphasizes the vulnerability of vegetation to invasive pathogens. “Monitoring the health of forests,” says Alessandro Sebastiani, first author of the paper and a researcher at CNR-IRET, ”represents one of the most important actions to counteract the deleterious effects of climate change. According to several studies, the increase in temperatures, heat waves and drought periods expected in the coming years will favor the spread of pathogens such as Phytophthora. Therefore, it is imperative to have tools to help decision makers take timely and effective counter actions.
Our approach has allowed us to map areas prone to infection. The wide availability of satellite data, which are acquired over the study area at regular intervals of a few days, can help us track the expansion of the disease. Of course, there is still room to improve the accuracy of our predictions, but we believe that this study represents an excellent starting point.” “For the near future,” Sebastiani concludes, ”it would be interesting to test additional satellite data, first and foremost hyperspectral data, to identify areas prone to infection and provide even more reliable indications.
The study https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2352938524001939?via%3Dihub