The spread of Xylella fastidiosa in the south-eastern Iberian Peninsula: combining spatial and regional geographical approaches

The detection of the bacterium Xylella fastidiosa in Europe evidences the risks and potential effects of invasive plant pathogens at the crop, landscape, and regional scales. This study aims to combine spatial and regional geographical approaches. For this purpose, we developed a spatial analysis of the spread of X. fastidiosa in the south-eastern Iberian Peninsula, specifically the province of Alicante (Valencian Community, Spain). First, we integrated into a Geographic Information System (GIS) the presence records of X. fastidiosa published in an official report submitted by the Valencian Government (Diari Oficial de la Generalitat Valenciana). Second, we applied a set of spatial analysis techniques to study the pathogen's dispersion. Preliminary results show that the progressive spread of X. fastidiosa in the south-eastern Iberian Peninsula has a directional distribution conditioned by geography, and the spatial pattern expressed is clustered. These results provide valuable information for monitoring outbreaks of X. fastidiosa and the early adoption of control measures based on spatially explicit data. Geography matters, and combining spatial and regional geographical approaches is a challenge for future research.