Clark Labs and the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Enter Into Cooperative Agreement to Study Hyperspectral Imagery for Indications of Emerald Ash Borer Infestation
4/16/04

Clark Labs and the USDA have recently entered into a Cooperative Agreement to apply hyperspectral imaging technology to the survey of the emerald ash borer through the development of maps of ash tree distributions and maps of ash trees exhibiting stress symptoms indicative of emerald ash borer damage.

The emerald ash borer, an exotic wood boring beetle from East Asia, was recently found attacking ash trees in the metropolitan area of Detroit, Michigan. This buprestid species feeds under the bark of ash trees in its larval stages, girdling trees and killing them rapidly. Thousands of trees in southern Michigan and northern Ohio have already been killed by this highly invasive species. Left unchecked, it poses a very serious threat to urban and natural forests in the United States.

Survey for the beetle is difficult because it is already spread over a wide area, many ash trees and stands are inaccessible from the ground, and trees exhibit few outward signs of beetle attack until they are moribund. The aim of the Cooperative Agreement will be to research the degree to which distinctive spectral signatures from hyperspectral imagery can be associated with varying levels of infestation. The development of maps will allow for the refinement of the ground surveying within the particular study area and inform the estimation of dispersal rates of the emerald ash borer. They will also offer utility for a wider region and potentially assist in the surveys of other invasive species.

For further information, please contact Clark Labs, Worcester, MA. Tel: 508-793-7526.