Southern Pine Beetle Internet Control Center
PI(s): Salom, Scott M, Stone, Nicholas D
Investigators:
Website: SPBICC
Abstract: A web-based clearinghouse for southern pine beetle information, control strategies, and ongoing research and activities.
Description:
The southern pine beetle is a major pest in southern USA, Mexico, and Central America. Extensive resources have been allocated to research and development of this pest over the past century. Access to this information has traditionally required library searches. The emergence of the Internet now allows instant access to information. In 1999 we created a comprehensive website entitled, "The Southern Pine Beetle Internet Control Center" ( www.spbicc.vt.edu). The goal of the site was to provide all available resources on SPB to anyone with access to the Internet. It is also designed to increase communication among researchers and professionals to help advance our efforts to manage this pest. The site is interactive, which allows for constant updating without contacting a webmaster. Attributes of the site include background information in the form of fact sheets, reviews, and government handbooks; an interactive diagnostic identification key for SPB and other bark beetles; a searchable expertise directory; a calendar of SPB-related events; a research projects database; a discussion forum; an online SPB spot growth predictive model; a searchable bibliographic database; a webcrawler designed to search for SPB-related websites, and more. Web-based tools were developed to integrate relational databases as the functional base of this site. The dynamic nature of the SPBICC makes it a powerful tool and a model for development of websites in the future for other major agricultural or forest pests. Since its development, we have been responsible for website upgrades and content management.
Program Impact:
The homepage has been accessed over 64,000 times since inception of the site 7 years ago. It has become the principle website for information dissemination and communication on the topic for bark beetles in the southern U.S. The western region is in the process of developing an analogous site for western bark beetles.
Commodities: Conifers, Forests
Resources: WhizID
Disciplines: Forest Systems, Information Technology, Integrated Pest Management
Audiences: Environmental Groups, Extension Agents, Government Agencies, Researchers
