Landscape Composition and Climatic Parameters Significant in the Spread of an Invasive Species (Pine Wood Nematode)

• Main Author: dos Santos Ferreira, Mariana de Campos Quirino
• Format: Dissertation
• Language: English
• Published: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses 01-01-2014
• Subjects: Aerospace engineering; Agriculture; Climate Change; Cold; Economics; Ecosystems; Environmental conditions; Environmental economics; Environmental science; Forest products; Forestry; Geographic information science; Geographic information systems; Global positioning systems; GPS; Information Technology; Native species; Nonnative species; Optical illusions; Physical geography; Precipitation; Radiation; Soil sciences; Soils; Topography; Trees; Wood products; Wood sciences
• ISBN: 9798381902853

Studies show that the number of biological invasions has increased. The spread of species from their native range to other places is directly related to the increase in transport and movement of people and their goods. The Pine Wood Nematode (Bursaphelenchus xylophilus)(PWN), the causal agent of the pine wilt disease, is an example of this problem, originated from North America, has become a serious pest on Eurasia.This dissertation aims to understand if environmental factors are determining tree mortality in an area where the PWN has been confirmed since 2009. The study area is located in the centreal part of Portugal, a complex area regarding the topography and soil making it also complex concerning climatic and ecological conditions, providing a good study case on the possible interaction between a biological invasion and local environmental conditions. In order to evaluate the study area several of environmental parameters were determined, and analyzed in GIS. Additionally it was determined the proportion of recently dead trees in randomly selected pine forests within the study areaThe Binary logistic model showed that temperature in the warm trimester was the only parameter that better predicted the mortality. Climate change models predict an increase in the temperature in the future, thus indicating that the susceptability of Pinus pinasterto the PWN will increase.