Spatial analysis of the risk of major forest diseases in Monterey pine plantations |
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| Authors: | E Iturritxa N Mesanza A Brenning |
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| Affiliation: | 1. NEIKER, Vitoria‐Gasteiz, Arab, Spain;2. Department of Geography, Friedrich Schiller University, Jena, Germany;3. Department of Geography and Environmental Management, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada |
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| Abstract: | Diplodia pinea (causing diplodia blight), Fusarium circinatum (causing pitch canker), and Mycosphaerella spp. (causing needle blight) are examples of major fungal agents that damage Pinus spp. These diseases have a major negative impact on commercial plantation production, in addition to the risk of being introduced to native forest ecosystems. This study aimed to model the spatial risk of major forest diseases to Monterey pine plantations in northern Spain, to provide a basis for more focused management strategies. Generalized linear mixed‐effects models were used to identify empirical relationships between environmental variables and disease occurrence. Field surveys and laboratory tests confirmed that D. pinea caused shoot blight in 24% of sampled plantations. Fusarium circinatum and Mycosphaerella spp. were detected in 15 and 71% of analysed plantations, respectively. The results confirmed that disease risk was strongly related to summer precipitation, moderately related to solar radiation, followed by summer temperature and tree age. The predicted probability of disease incidence was >20, 98 and 85% for Mycosphaerella spp., F. circinatum and D. pinea, respectively. The resultant maps from this study may be used to identify high‐risk areas for increased monitoring and awareness of fungal diseases. |
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| Keywords: | disease risk assessment management strategy Monterey pine spatial analysis |
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