Determination of the distribution areas and density rate of chestnut gall wasp (Dryocosmus kuriphilus Yasumatsu) in chestnut forests of yalova region with unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)

In this study, an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (Multispectral) camera mounted on the Chestnut Gal Bee (Dryocosmus kuriphilus Yasumatsu), which has caused high damage in the chestnut fields within the borders of Bursa Regional Directorate of Forestry (OBM) Yalova Forestry Operations Directorate (OİM), in recent years. It is aimed to be mapped according to density and ecological characteristics with UAV). For this purpose, pure and mixed chestnut fields within the borders of Yalova Forestry Management Directorate (OIM) were determined as the study area. Chestnut Gal Bee (Dryocosmus kuriphilus Yasumatsu) was detected for the first time in April 2014 in Yalova. Chestnut Gal Bee poses a serious risk for chestnut honey production, which is an important income generating work, due to the damage it causes to chestnut flowers. In a study conducted in previous years, it was stated that there was a 30% decrease in the chestnut component in the composition of honey due to Dryocosmus kuriphilus Yasumatsu damage, and that chestnut honey would not be produced if the damage exceeded 40% in chestnut trees. In addition, Dryocosmus kuriphilus Yasumatsu can cause drying and death of chestnut trees with the damage they cause in pure or mixed chestnut forests. This damage can be seen by looking at the general appearance of the forest. In this context, in our study, the plants that are damaged can be determined by using plant vegetation indices. Therefore, in our study, UAV and multispectral camera were used to produce orthophotos. In the areas where the Chestnut Welsh Bee (Dryocosmus kuriphilus Yasumatsu) is distributed, flights were carried out with the UAV to produce orthophotos. The UAV used in these flights; It is DJI Matrice 210 V2. The multispectral camera brand and model mounted on the UAV is Micasense RedEdge MX. Photographs in ".jpeg" format are obtained separately for each of the five bands (red, green, blue, red edge and near infrared) in the multi-band camera. The photographs of each flight area were processed separately in Agisoft Metashape Pro software, and first the point cloud, then the digital surface model and orthophoto were produced. Various indices were produced by applying different combinations to the created multi-band orthophotos. In particular, NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) was used to identify and map damaged chestnut trees in the study.