Analyzing Pest Risk in the Context of Climate Change

Pests pose a significant threat to global food security and agricultural productivity. Climate change has exacerbated the impact of pests by affecting their distribution, abundance, and behavior. Effective pest management strategies require a comprehensive understanding of pest risk factors and the ability to forecast climatic changes. This chapter outlines the key factors influencing pest risk in the context of climate change, including temperature, elevated carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration, overwintering, precipitation, and sunlight. The text also covers major pests of field crops, such as insects, fungi, bacteria, and nematodes. It presents advanced techniques for pest risk assessment, including World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) standards, Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) standards, and risk assessment models. The chapter concludes with a discussion on pest population management strategies, emphasizing the importance of integrating cultural, biological, and chemical control methods.