Juha Kaitera, Tuula Piri, Minna Männistö, Sanna Vinblad, Heli Väätäjä, Kari Mäkitalo. (2026). Dogs can detect the rust fungus Cronartium pini in the forest. Silva Fennica vol. 60 no. 1 article id 25036. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.25036

Keywords: Pinus sylvestris; Scots pine blister rust; alternate hosts; canine; resin-top disease; scent detection

Highlights: Dogs identified Cronartium pini spores, fruit bodies and young and old lesions; Dogs identified both heteroecious and autoecious Cronartium pini; Dogs identified Cronartium pini at the early epidemical stage of the disease; Dogs identified Cronartium pini from latent infections in alive shoots.

Abstract | Full text in HTML | Full text in PDF | Author Info

Cronartium pini (Willd.) Jørst. is a major rust pathogen that kills especially Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.). Early diagnosis of the pathogen would reduce significant losses in managed forest productivity. Dogs (Canis lupus familiaris L.) with their accurate sense of smell have potential to detect forest pathogens at an early stage before they cause significant losses in forests. In this study, we tested in northern Finland whether trained volunteer dog-handler teams could identify infected wood, fruit bodies, spores or mycelia of C. pini in vitro and in vivo to facilitate early disease diagnosis. Volunteer dog-handler teams were able to indicate C. pini spores, fruit bodies and both fresh and old rust lesions on Scots pine including alive shoots, where the rust was present yet as latent. Five dogs out of five detected in vitro C. pini (both life-cycle forms), with 51% mean sensitivity and 58% mean precision. Four dogs out of four detected in vivo the autoecious life-cycle form of C. pini, with 95% mean sensitivity and 89% mean precision. In in vivo detection of the heteroecious life cycle form on pine, two dogs out of two performed with 78% mean sensitivity (100% precision). For identifying C. pini on alternate hosts in vivo, the mean sensitivity was 58% (precision 100%). Trained dog-handler pairs show promise as an aid in searching for C. pini especially in Scots pine stands at their early epidemical stage, but further testing is needed.

Kaitera, Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Paavo Havaksen tie 3, FI-90570 Oulu, Finland https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2549-7001 E-mail: juha.kaitera@luke.fi
Piri, Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Latokartanonkaari 9, FI-00790 Helsinki, Finland https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8690-3726 E-mail: tuula.piri@luke.fi
Männistö, Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Ounasjoentie 6, FI-96200 Rovaniemi, Finland https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9390-1104 E-mail: minna.mannisto@luke.fi
Vinblad, Lapland University of Applied Sciences, Jokiväylä 11 C, FI-96300 Rovaniemi, Finland https://orcid.org/0009-0009-1131-6143 E-mail: sanna.vinblad@lapinamk.fi
Väätäjä, Lapland University of Applied Sciences, Jokiväylä 11 C, FI-96300 Rovaniemi, Finland https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3324-9497 E-mail: heli.vaataja@lapinamk.fi
Mäkitalo, Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Ounasjoentie 6, FI-96200 Rovaniemi, Finland E-mail: kari.makitalo@luke.fi

article id 25022, category Research article

Reetta Kangaslampi, Olli-Pekka Tikkanen. (2026). Training and utilizing scent detection dogs in the identification of the European spruce bark beetle Ips typographus. Silva Fennica vol. 60 no. 1 article id 25022. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.25022

Keywords: Ips typographus; conservation detection dog; scent detection dog; spruce bark beetle, wildlife detection dog

Highlights: Scent detection dogs can identify a small sample of live European spruce bark beetles with a 98% sensitivity in the laboratory; Training a scent detection dog to detect bark beetles is relatively time-efficient; Early intervention strategies may benefit from inclusion of scent detection dogs in the management process.

Abstract | Full text in HTML | Full text in PDF | Author Info

The European spruce bark beetle (Ips typographus L.) thrives in weakened mature spruce (Picea abies (L.) H. Karst.) stands, causing massive destruction and becoming more abundant in Europe since the late 2010s. Early identification of new outbreaks is essential to ensure timely logging of infested trees to control the bark beetle population. Scent detection dogs (Canis lupus familiaris L.) are being used to identify illegal substances, diseases, and animal scat. In this study, the use of scent detection dogs in the identification of the European spruce bark beetle was tested. The main objective was to examine whether a dog could be trained to reliably identify the scent of a small group of live bark beetles. In this study we carried out comprehensive testing of the accuracy of the method in the laboratory and performed a small-scale functionality study in a field setting. The study was conducted by training two scent detection dogs to identify live bark beetles from empty samples and interference samples. This study differs from previous publications regarding spruce bark beetle detection, as our dogs were trained on live beetles. We concluded that, after a relatively short training period (23 days within eight weeks), scent detection dogs can identify a small sample of live European spruce bark beetles with a 98% sensitivity in the laboratory. The sensitivity was remarkably high and gave positive indications of the method’s functionality and usability in the future also in field conditions. The use of a scent detection dog can be a welcome and effective way to identify bark beetle damage.

Kangaslampi, University of Eastern Finland; Faculty of Science, Forestry and Technology; P.O. Box 111, FI-80101 Joensuu, Finland https://orcid.org/0009-0001-2965-3369 E-mail: reetta.kangaslampi@uef.fi
Tikkanen, University of Eastern Finland; Faculty of Science, Forestry and Technology; P.O. Box 111, FI-80101 Joensuu, Finland https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3875-2772 E-mail: olli-pekka.tikkanen@uef.fi

Click this link to register to Silva Fennica.

If you are a registered user, log in to save your selected articles for later access.

Contents alert

Your selected articles

Follow @SilvaFennica