PestSpace

Climate change is creating conditions that may allow plant pests and diseases previously unable to survive in the Baltic Sea Region (BSR) to establish and spread. As growing conditions change, the risk of new and emerging threats to crops and ecosystems is expected to increase.

Effective and timely responses require reliable monitoring of pest and plant disease diversity, particularly during the growing season. High-quality biodiversity data are essential for assessing current risks, modelling potential future spread, and developing appropriate adaptation and response measures. However, monitoring data are currently fragmented, not sufficiently comprehensive, and often not available in a form that can be easily accessed and shared across countries and stakeholder groups.

PestSpace will address this challenge by developing an integrated digital system for the early detection and monitoring of emerging plant pests. The system will combine environmental DNA (eDNA) analysis with images uploaded through a mobile application to support the identification of pests directly in the field.

Artificial intelligence and machine-learning methods will be used to analyse collected data and support the detection and identification of both known and potentially unknown pests. The resulting data will be integrated and stored in a common data space based on the PlutoF platform, enabling efficient data management, analysis, and sharing among farmers, authorities, and researchers.

When potential threats are detected, the system will enable rapid communication with plant growers and other relevant stakeholders and provide guidance on appropriate response measures. PestSpace will also develop practical guidance and training materials to support the effective use and adoption of the system.

The project will engage stakeholders across the plant production and protection value chain and validate the developed system using two crops of particular importance to the BSR. Based on the results, PestSpace will develop recommendations and guidelines for extending the system to additional crops and countries across the Baltic Sea Region.

Ultimately, PestSpace aims to strengthen regional capacity for early pest detection, improve cross-border cooperation and data sharing, and support faster, evidence-based responses to emerging threats to agriculture and ecosystems.