The Detection of Tree of Heaven (Ailanthus altissima) Using Drones and Optical Sensors: Implications for the Management of Invasive Plants and Insects

Abstract

Tree of heaven (Ailanthus altissima) is a highly invasive tree species in the USA and the preferred host of an invasive insect, the spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula). Currently, pest managers rely solely on ground surveys for detecting both A. altissima and spotted lanternflies. This study aimed to develop efficient tools for A. altissima detection using drones equipped with optical sensors. Aerial surveys were conducted to determine the optimal season, sensor type, and flight altitudes for A. altissima detection. The results revealed that A. altissima can be detected during different seasons and at specific flight heights. Male inflorescences were identifiable using an RGB sensor in the spring at <40 m, seed clusters were identifiable in summer and fall at <25 m using an RGB sensor, and remnant seed clusters were identifiable in the winter at <20 m using RGB and thermal sensors. Combining all seasonal data allowed for the identification of both male and female A. altissima. This study suggests that employing drones with optical sensors can provide a near real-time and efficient method for A. altissima detection. Such a tool has the potential to aid in the development of effective strategies for monitoring spotted lanternflies and managing A. altissima.

Morning Glory Flower Detection in Aerial Images Using Semi-Supervised Segmentation with Gaussian Mixture Models

“…With recent advances in UAS and sensor technologies, aerial surveys have become a key method for precision agriculture and smart farming because UASs can cover a larger area of land in less time for the creation of weed and treatment maps. In addition, the UAS has found widespread applications in crop and soil monitoring [33][34][35], pest detection [22,36,37], aerial release of natural enemies [38,39], and pesticide application [40]. In this study, we developed an automated method for detecting I. purpurea flowers using an enhanced GMM.…”

Temperature Dependency of Insect’s Wingbeat Frequencies: An Empirical Approach to Temperature Correction

“…These technologies try to address the overall lack of abundance data on insect populations [1,2] and hold potential for applications in agriculture, where pest monitoring and the decline of pollinators are critical, and in public health, for vector control strategies. Among these new methods are various optical sensors [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13], including entomological lidars [7,9,[14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21] and radars [22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31], as well as acoustic sensing [32][33][34]. Smart traps, imaging technologies, and computer vision [35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42] also offer alternative ways to track and evaluate insect abundance, while some instruments coupled these observations with lethal lasers to directly eliminate pests [43][44]…”