Abstract
The number of invasive alien pest and pathogen species affecting ecosystem functioning, human health and economies has increased dramatically over the last decades. Discoveries of invasive pests and pathogens previously unknown to science or with unknown host associations yet damaging on novel hosts highlights the necessity of developing novel tools to predict their appearance in hitherto naïve environments. The use of sentinel plant systems is a promising tool to improve the detection of pests and pathogens before introduction and to provide valuable information for the development of preventative measures to minimize economic or environmental impacts. Though sentinel plantings have been established and studied during the last decade, there still remains a great need for guidance on which tools and protocols to put into practice in order to make assessments accurate and reliable. The sampling and diagnostic protocols chosen should enable as much information as possible about potential damaging agents and species identification. Consistency and comparison of results are based on the adoption of common procedures for sampling design and sample processing. In this paper, we suggest harmonized procedures that should be used in sentinel planting surveys for effective sampling and identification of potential pests and pathogens. We also review the benefits and limitations of various diagnostic methods for early detection in sentinel systems, and the feasibility of the results obtained supporting National Plant Protection Organizations in pest and commodity risk analysis.
Highlights
Invasive alien species (IAS) are amongst the leading global threats to biodiversity, economy and human health (Sarukhan et al 2005; Early et al 2016)
The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the protocols and techniques useful in sentinel plantings with a focus on: 1) the capacity for sentinel systems to provide useful information to NPPOs for pest and commodity risk analyses, 2) the description of the harmonized diagnostic approach in sentinel plantings, its potential and its relation with the Pest risk analysis (PRA) and CMA and 3) sampling, diagnostics and the utility of different techniques in increasing our ability to accurately detect and identify new threats
Invasive pests and pathogens are major threats to the health of plants and forests. Key to controlling these invasions are preventative measures that will allow for early detection of potentially damaging organisms preferably before they are introduced to a new region
Summary
Invasive alien species (IAS) are amongst the leading global threats to biodiversity, economy and human health (Sarukhan et al 2005; Early et al 2016). Globalization and international trade have largely facilitated the unintentional long-distance movement of alien plant pests and pathogens into regions outside their. In the last 200 years, the number of alien invasive forest pathogens has increased exponentially (Santini et al 2013) and the rate of establishment of alien insect species has nearly doubled over the last 30–40 years in Europe alone (Roques et al 2016). Recent examples of devastating plant pests and pathogens distributed with live plants include the citrus long-horned beetle (Anoplophora chinensis Foster), the box tree moth (Cydalima perspectalis Walker), box blight Kowal), sudden oak death and ramorum leaf blight (Phytophthora ramorum Werres, De Cock & Man in ‘t Veld) (Santini et al 2013; Prospero and Cleary 2017; Kenis et al 2018)
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