Monitoring Toumeyella parvicornis (Hemiptera, Coccidae) infestation in Italian Mediterranean pine forests using Sentinel-2 imagery

Forests provide many services to society but climate change, biotic, and abiotic forest disturbances are altering ecological systems. Among these, Mediterranean pine forests, distinctive environmental elements of the Italian coastal area for both natural and historical reasons, are particularly susceptible. As evidenced by numerous wind damages, drought stress, and more recently Toumeyella parvicornis infestation in central Italy. On the other hand, there is a lack of reliable and spatialized data on the spread of infestations and stress states. Monitoring is crucial for these forests that over time provided goods and services that contributed to the socio-economic development of the coastal area, such as stabilizing dunes, protecting agricultural lands from sea winds, providing wood products, pine nuts, and other non-wood products such as turpentine and truffles. Mediterranean pine forests in Italy cover an area of more than 240k ha, of which about 65k ha are maritime pine (Pinus pinaster Ait.) forests, 48k ha are stone pine (Pinus pinea L.) forests, and Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis Mill.) forests account for 115k ha. In this context of persistent stressors, monitoring forests' health status using all available sources of information is more essential than ever.