Plant-parasitic nematodes (PPNs) are important pests that cause an estimated ten billion dollars of crop loss each year in the United States and over 100 billion dollars globally. The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) within the U.S. Department of Agriculture maintains and updates the U.S. Regulated Plant Pest list. Currently, the number of PPNs regulated by APHIS includes more than 60 different species. This review focuses on the top ten most economically important regulated and emerging plant-parasitic nematodes and summarizes the diagnostics of morphological and some molecular features for distinguishing them. These ten major previously described nematode species are associated with various economically important crops from around the world. This review also includes their current distribution in the U.S. and a brief historical background and updated systematic position of these species. The species included in this review include three PPNs considered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as invasive invertebrates Globodera pallida, Globodera rostochiensis, and Heterodera glycines; four regulated PPNs, namely Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, Meloidogyne fallax, Ditylenchus dipsaci, and Pratylenchus fallax; and the three emerging PPNs Meloidogyne chitwoodi, Meloidogyne enterolobii, and Litylenchus crenatae mccannii.

Plant-parasitic nematodes (PPNs) cause billions of dollars in agricultural losses annually. In the United States, a well-established list of prevalent nematodes serves as a foundation for addressing known threats. However, climate change is expected to trigger significant shifts in nematode populations, behaviors, and host ranges, introducing new risks to agricultural ecosystems. Understanding how nematodes adapt to evolving environments is crucial for predicting their spread to new locations and hosts. Beyond the spread of current PPN populations, there is the ongoing threat of undetected or nonnative PPNs entering the United States, potentially causing severe damage to agriculture and forest ecosystems. Continuous surveillance is vital to track nematode spread, and advancements, such as machine learning for nematode detection and quantification, enhance diagnostic capabilities. Additionally, remote sensing combined with geographic information systems is emerging as a powerful tool for pest management, offering spatial analysis and real-time monitoring. In this review, we highlight a selection of PPN species, including those with currently limited geographic distribution but posing a significant threat if introduced to new environments. We list these nematodes based on their host range, potential economic impact, and current molecular diagnostic methods. We propose the “emergence triangle” to explore how abiotic stresses impact nematode adaptation and how nematologists use innovative technologies to enhance surveillance efforts. Although ongoing diagnostic and monitoring efforts provide valuable insights, continuous surveillance is essential to track nematode spread. Critical questions remain regarding the criteria used by government officials to classify and regulate nematodes and who guides decisions on prioritizing threats. [ ] Copyright © 2025 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY 4.0 International license .

Digital Earth (DE) education provides students with geospatial knowledge and skills to locate, measure, and solve geographic problems on Earth’s surface. The rapid development of geospatial technology has promoted a new vision of DE to embrace data infrastructure, social networks, citizen science, and human processes on Earth. The high demand for a geospatial workforce also calls for an ever-changing, diverse form of learning experiences. Limited efforts, however, have been made regarding DE education to adapt to this changing landscape, with most interventions falling short of expectations. This chapter gives an overview of current teaching and learning structures with DE technologies. Successes and obstacles for K-12 education are explored first, followed by classroom technologies and experiential learning and outreach exercises such as academic certificates and internships in higher education. Taking the geospatial intelligence model from the U.S. Geospatial Intelligence Foundation (USGIF) as an example, recent advancements in DE education for professional careers are described via its geospatial competencies, hierarchical frameworks, and credentials. In alignment with the principles of DE development, future DE education calls for an integrated learning framework of open data, real-world context, and virtual reality for better preparedness of our students in the geospatial world.

The restructuring of the mining sector in Romania since 1989 has had extremely serious social, economic and environmental consequences for the mining settlements. Following the mine closure pro- grams and socio-economic and environmental regeneration efforts the situation has only slightly improved, the settlements being still very vulnerable in terms of quality of life and prospects for sustainable development. In this paper the authors have developed a vision for sustainable development of the Apuseni Mountains mining areas that would support policy writing and lead to the identification of appropriate solutions for socio-economic and environmental development of the studied area.

Data fusion and analysis of maps and remote sensing data collected from different spatial perspectives (ground, air, and space) at different times from the early 20^th century to the present using different sensors were used to answer questions about glacier behavior and rapidly changing landscapes of Alaska’s southern Kenai Mountains. Expeditions to three fiords of the southern Kenai Mountains were conducted during the summers of 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2021. Each expedition used repeat photography to document glacier behavior and change, and landscape evolution at six Kenai Mountains glaciers, most located within Kenai Fjords National Park. Bear Glacier, Aialik Glacier, Pedersen Glacier, Holgate Glacier, Little Holgate Glacier, and Northwestern Glacier were studied and at a minimum, their terminus positions were determined for the following dates: 1909, 1950, 1961, 1973, 1990, 2004-2006, and 2021. Each glacier displayed unique asynchronous behavior. Since 1909, all displayed long-term terminus retreat. However, the timing for each glacier was unique. In 2021, Holgate Glacier was advancing, while the other five glaciers were retreating.