Integrating advanced earth observation and environmental information for sustainable management of crop pests and diseases

该项目旨在汇集和开展尖端研究，提供病虫害监测和预报信息，整合多来源（地球观测、气象和垂直观测雷达），以支持病虫害可持续管理的决策。该项目将探索将最近发射的卫星的新数据源与现有数据产品进行整合和融合。这将克服空间和时间差异，产生适用于病虫害监测和预测、干预效果预测和产量损失估计的新的数据解决方案和算法。新的数据产品和算法将使用两个候选系统进行测试：小麦真菌病（条锈病）和严重害虫（迁徙蝗虫）。还将探索用于控制蝗虫的生物农药的相应功效，目的是调查在该项目期间产生的相同数据输入是否可以在广泛的系统下使用，从而在未来产生更大的数据同化影响。模型将在实验室和实地得到验证，以提供预测的确定性。此外，风险和损失估计将使用尖端的EO技术进行调查，并将探索使用垂直观测雷达监测蝗虫，这种技术能够通过雷达波束识别飞行昆虫的大小和种类。除了建立监测和预报系统，利用在本项目中吸收的数据外，还将探讨将这些资料提供给适当的最终用户的途径，以确保在本项目期间开发的技术产生最大影响。该项目财团将与中国的NATESC密切合作，以确保该系统以一种与现有信息传播方法兼容的方式建造。该项目财团是一个强大的多学科团队，具有EO，垂直雷达技术和农业研究和推广方面的专业知识。

The project aims to bring together and produce cutting edge research to provide pest and disease monitoring and forecast information, integrating multi-source (Earth Observation (EO), meteorological and vertical looking radar) to support decision making in the sustainable management of insect pests and diseases. The project will explore the integration and fusion of new data sources from recently launched satellites with existing data products. This will overcome spatial and temporal differences to produce new data solutions and algorithms which are suitable for pest and disease monitoring and prediction, intervention efficacy forecasting and estimation of yield losses. The new data products and algorithms will be tested using two candidate systems: a fungal disease of wheat (stripe rust) and a serious insect pest (migratory locust). The corresponding efficacy of a biopesticide used to control the locust will also be explored, with the aim to investigate whether the same data inputs produced during this project can be utilised under a wide range of systems, leading to a greater impact of data assimilation in the future. Models will be validated in the laboratory and in the field to give a measure of certainty of predictions. Additionally, risk and loss estimation will be investigated using cutting edge EO techniques, and monitoring of locusts will be explored using Vertical Looking Radar, a technology which is capable of identifying the size and species of insect flying through a radar beam. In addition to building monitoring and forecasting systems with data assimilated during this project, routes to extend this information to appropriate end users will be explored to ensure maximum impact of technologies developed during the project. The project consortium will work closely with NATESC in China to ensure the system is built in a way that is compatible with existing methods of information dissemination. The project consortium is a strong multidisciplinary team with expertise in EO, vertical-looking radar technology and agricultural research and extension.