Remote Sensing Technologies For Mountain Pine Beetle Surveys

Surveys for mountain pine beetle are undertaken across a range of scales to provide forest managers with up-to-date information regarding the location, extent, and numbers of infested trees. Remote sensing provides new opportunities to detect and map mountain pine beetle damage to inform management and mitigation decisions. The key to using remotely sensed data is to identify how this new information can be integrated with traditional datasets. In this communication, we present the survey information needs for mountain pine beetle management, then match those needs with the potential and limits of remote sensing. Some examples of how remotely sensed data have been used for mapping mountain pine beetle impact are then presented.