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

该项目旨在汇集和产生前沿研究，提供病虫害监测和预报信息，整合多来源（地球观测、气象和垂直雷达），以支持病虫害可持续管理方面的决策。该项目将探讨如何将最近发射的卫星的新数据源与现有数据产品相结合。这将克服空间和时间差异，产生新的数据解决方案和算法，适用于病虫害监测和预测、干预效力预测和产量损失估计。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）和严重的虫害（飞蝗）。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。模型将在实验室和现场进行验证，以衡量预测的确定性。此外，还将利用先进的电子观测技术对风险和损失估计进行调查，并将利用垂直观测雷达对蝗虫进行监测，这种技术能够通过雷达波束识别飞行昆虫的大小和种类。除了利用该项目期间吸收的数据建立监测和预报系统外，还将探讨如何将这一信息提供给适当的最终用户，以确保项目期间开发的技术产生最大的影响。该项目联合体将与中国的NATESC密切合作，以确保该系统的建设与现有的信息传播方法兼容。该项目联合体是一个强大的多学科团队，拥有EO、垂直雷达技术和农业研究与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.