Caroline Kanaskie
Drones can detect
southern pine beetle
early attack
I presented our work at the 2024 Entomological Society of America Eastern Branch meeting in Morgantown, West Virginia.
Can we use drones to detect early SPB attack?
Yes! Check out our paper.
The problem
Timely, accurate detection of southern pine beetle (SPB) outbreaks is key to managing this tree-killing beetle. The problem is locating these outbreaks early enough: when the beetles first attack, symptoms are only visible along the trunk of the tree.
Our idea
Stressed trees are known to show spectral signatures that we can't see with just our eyes. Can SPB attack be detected by multispectral cameras, which capture infrared and near infrared light? These wavelengths of light are beyond the visible range, but have been used to identify tree stress in other situations.
Our tools
On the ground, we recorded visible tree decline symptoms and SPB stage under the bark, following SPB outbreaks.
From above, drones captured visible-light and multispectral imagery.
In the lab, we processed the imagery and calculated spectral indices. A random forest algorithm classified the trees in the imagery.
Our team
Principal Investigators:
Project manager:
UAV imagery processing:
Field technician:
Isabella Barbini (UNH)
