Journal of Food, Agriculture and Environment

Geographic information systems (GIS) and entomological research: A review

Author(s):

Ivana Dminić ^1*, Antonela Kozina ², Renata Bažok ², Jasminka Igrc Barčić ³

Recieved Date: 2010-01-22, Accepted Date: 2010-04-07

Abstract:

Integrated pest management (IPM) is an important component of sustainable agriculture, enabling the production of farm products with minimum pesticide residues and preserving the environment and the natural equilibrium among organisms in the agro-ecosystem. In order to carry out IPM, it is necessary to have enough information about the biology and ecology of a given pest, particularly concerning their spatial distribution and factors that affect the spatial distribution of given species, all of which is enabled by geographic information system (GIS) techniques. GIS has allowed for the rapid development of technologies that offer new opportunities and potentially more effective methods for detecting and monitoring insect pests, as well as understanding their spatial dynamics. GIS, which is often described as “technology”, provides experts (ecologists, entomologists, etc.) the possibility for storing, retrieving, processing and displaying spatial data. From an applied plant ecology and insect management perspective, patterns documented at the field scale would have immense practical value through increased efficiency in sampling activities, more precise targeting of management activities and reduced operational costs for farmers and land managers. This review paper presents considerable variability in the methods which researchers used GIS in their studies. The results demonstrate the usefulness of GIS in ecological research aimed at characterizing community interactions, specifically niche partitioning among competing species. Combining a geostatistic analysis of agronomic and climatic parameters with insect distribution pattern(s), it should be possible to draw the risk-areas at a predetermined spatial scale of investigation (for example, a province). This kind of approach could provide more precise monitoring and management of investigated pests on large rural areas.

Keywords:

Geographic information system, spatial distribution, temporal distribution, entomological researches, insect pests

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Journal: Journal of Food, Agriculture and Environment
Year: 2010
Volume: 8
Issue: 2
Category: Environment
Pages: 1193-1198

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