[IUFRO RG 7.02 FORPATH] using Google Street View to localise pest insects

Dear Forpathers, For the first time, forest entomologists have used the freely downloadable Google Street View (GSV) database to map the geographical distribution of an increasingly common invasive pest insect, the pine processionary moth. The scientists estimated that this on-line database would provide a good representation of the presence of this species. Their findings, published in PLOS ONE on 9 October 2013, open the way to the simplified and inexpensive acquisition of data that are essential when studying invasive or expanding species. A nice idea, that may be tested for some tree diseases, at least for those with easily recognizable and unambiguous symptoms. Press release: http://presse.inra.fr/en/Resources/Press-releases/Using-Google-Street-View-… The article: http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0074918 Best regards, ---- Dr Pascal FREY INRA, University of Lorraine Department of Tree - Microbe Interactions Ecology of Forest Pathogenic Fungi team UMR1136 IAM F-54280 Champenoux FRANCE Phone: 33 383 394 056 Fax: 33 383 394 069 E-mail: frey(a)nancy.inra.fr http://mycor.nancy.inra.fr/IAM/?page_id=731