Artificial intelligence at the service of prediction and early detection of Phytophthora cinnamomi in cork oak and holm oak ecosystems deserves the support of the “la Caixa” Foundation, in collaboration with BPI, and the FCT.
The project “AI applied to an early warning and detection system for Phytophthora cinnamomi in dehesa”, led by InnovPlantProtect (InPP), is one of the winners of the 3rd edition of the Promove Program, in the category of innovative pilot projects. In total, more than 2.5 million euros will be allocated by the ”la Caixa” Foundation, BPI and the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under this program for the development of Portugal's inland regions.
The result of a collaboration between Portugal and Spain, the project led by InPP, a collaborative laboratory (CoLAB) based in Elvas, aims to develop and test, in both countries, an Early Detection Warning System (EDWS) to control the spread of the cork oak decline disease, which affects these ecosystems irreversibly.
The disease is caused by a fungal organism (an oomycete) called Phytophthora cinnamomi and is worrying given the importance of cork oak forests in the local and global economies of both Portugal and Spain. The montado/hesa provides services such as the production of cork and firewood, food for animal species (black pigs and cattle), carbon sequestration, reduction of soil erosion, and habitat for rare and endemic species, as well as being a recreational space.
Using artificial intelligence, among other technologies, the proposed system will make it possible to develop predictive maps of the spatial dispersion of the pathogen and produce the appropriate recommendations/actions in the event of a disease outbreak. The project also aims to actively involve all those who depend economically on the state of conservation of the cork oak forest/hesa, namely through the creation of a free and easily accessible webGIS (online geographic information system) service.
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