Researching and developing a remote sensing approach to detecting stand-level spruce bark beetle attach in central British Columbia

云杉树皮甲虫（Dendroctonus rufipennis）是北美西部森林中的一种破坏性害虫。该甲虫通过取食内部树皮，破坏树木的韧皮部，并将一种蓝变真菌带入边材来杀死大型云杉树。在不列颠哥伦比亚省的北方，云杉甲虫的数量正在迅速增加，目前在这一地区的156，000公顷的木材上受到云杉甲虫的侵扰。陆地信息服务和新喀里多尼亚学院正在合作开展一个项目，研究和开发一种基于计算机的方法，分析高分辨率的森林航空图像，预测整个地区街道上的树皮甲虫袭击。这一方法将为林业部门带来几项重要的创新：（i）可以通过使用无人驾驶飞行器（UAV）收集图像并使用这种新方法在收集后分析图像来降低树皮甲虫调查成本，以及（ii）可以预测整个地区的树皮甲虫感染率，这将改善森林管理和树皮甲虫的防治工作。（3）无人驾驶飞机的方法比传统的小型飞机有许多优点，大规模的高清晰度固定翼航空摄影，如交付在近真实的和任何规模。在学院的自然资源和环境技术计划的学生将参与这个项目，并将开发在新兴技术的宝贵技能，以管理森林健康因素在BC省的森林。

The spruce bark beetle (Dendroctonus rufipennis) is a destructive pest in the forests of western North America.The beetle kills large spruce trees by feeding on the inner bark, disrupting the phloem of the tree, and vectoringa blue stain fungus into the sapwood. Spruce beetle populations are rapidly increasing in northern BritishColumbia, and currently infest 156,000 hectares of timber in this region.Terrestrial Information Services and the College of New Caledonia are collaborating on a project to researchand develop a computer-based method that analyzes high-resolution aerial images of forests and predictstree-level bark beetle attack for the entire area. This approach will introduce several important innovations tothe forest sector: (i) bark beetle survey costs could be reduced by collecting images using unmanned aerialvehicles (UAV) and analyzing the images post-collection with this new approach, and (ii) bark beetleinfestation rates would be predicted for entire areas, which will improve forest management and bark beetlesanitation operations (iii) the UAV approach offers numerous advantages over traditional small-scale highdefinition fixed wing aerial photography such as delivery in near real time and at any scale.Students in the College's Natural Resources and Environmental Technology program will be involved in thisproject, and will develop valuable skills in emerging technologies to manage forest health factors in BC'sforests.