The spread of the red palm weevil is now a very severe problem on a global scale. In this paper, we investigate its spread during the 2007–2013 period in a coastal urban area characterized by a high density of palm trees, and discuss the application of a new approach to data collection and processing. While most works on the spread of the red palm weevil are based upon geo-referenced traps, we focused on the health of each palm, considering the surrounding territorial context. To this end, we used historical aerial photos, freely available remote sensing images and field surveys, integrated in a GIS environment to analyze the extent and mode of pest spread over time. Our results show that the exponential increase of new cases for each new year is regulated by this spatial spread model: at the early stage of infestation the red weevil tends to occupy as much space as possible, within the limitations of the distance it can fly; in the following stage, its infestation density increases in recently colonized areas. We discuss current local management of palm trees and the pests, and propose strategies that take into account both the ecology of the red weevil and the territorial context. Finally, we encourage the provision of more resources for early detection and prevention measures, as well as replacement of the dead Phoenix canariensis palms with a greater variety of species, as a varied composition would be less prone to pest-caused depopulation.

中文翻译：

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使用GIS技术分析城市地区的Rhynchophorus ferrugineus的传播：以意大利中部为例

在全球范围内，红色棕榈象鼻虫的扩散现在是一个非常严重的问题。在本文中，我们调查了其在2007-2013年期间在以棕榈树高密度为特征的沿海城市地区的传播情况，并讨论了一种新方法在数据收集和处理中的应用。尽管大多数关于红掌象鼻虫传播的工作都是基于地理参考的陷阱，但考虑到周围的领土背景，我们还是将重点放在每只棕榈的健康上。为此，我们使用了历史航拍照片，可免费获得的遥感图像和实地调查，并将它们集成在GIS环境中，以分析有害生物随时间传播的程度和方式。我们的结果表明，这种空间传播模型调节了每年新病例的指数增长：在侵扰初期，红色象鼻虫会在其能飞翔的距离范围内占据尽可能多的空间。在接下来的阶段中，在最近定殖的地区其侵染密度增加。我们讨论了当前对棕榈树和害虫的当地管理，并提出了既考虑了红色象鼻虫的生态又考虑了其领土背景的策略。最后，我们鼓励为早期发现和预防措施以及更换死者提供更多资源 并提出既考虑红色象鼻虫的生态又考虑领土背景的策略。最后，我们鼓励为早期发现和预防措施以及更换死者提供更多资源 并提出既考虑红色象鼻虫的生态又考虑领土背景的策略。最后，我们鼓励为早期发现和预防措施以及更换死者提供更多资源加那利凤凰棕榈的种类繁多，因为其组成各异，因此不太容易因害虫引起的种群减少。