Identify the coldspots and hotspots of crop pests and pathogens

Samenvatting (Engelstalig)

My main question of this thesis is how climate change impact staple crops through changes in pests and pathogens. I utilized modelling techniques to explore potential effects of climate change on pests and pathogens of staple crops including wheat, rice, maize and soybean. First, I reviewed the existing work of impact of climate change on wheat and rice, and its pests and pathogens. Second, I inferred the likely distribution of the Sitobion grain aphid complex in face of climate change. Third, I created multi-species distribution maps that depict potential future hotspots and coldspots of crop pathogens and insect pests and revealed co-occurrence patterns in agro-ecosystems that have important ramifications for optimal control strategies. Fourth, I predicted changes in the global distribution of insect pest community richness and composition under two climate scenarios: one with low emissions and less warming, and one with high emissions and greater warming.