Home2022April20The Conversation: Reduce Agricultural Chemicals to Save Insects from Climate Change
The Conversation: Reduce Agricultural Chemicals to Save Insects from Climate Change
9 hours ago Eric Worrall 29 Comments
If you have ever tried to grow a veggie garden, you will know first hand how much heartache a good drenching of bug spray can prevent. But deep greens appear to prioritise insects before humans.
Climate change triggering global collapse in insect numbers: stressed farmland shows 63% decline – new research
Published: April 21, 2022 1.12am AEST
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The world may be facing a devastating “hidden” collapse in insect species due to the twin threats of climate change and habitat loss.
UCL’s Centre for Biodiversity & Environment Research has carried out one of the largest-ever assessments of insect declines around the world – assessing three-quarters of a million samples from around 6,000 sites.
The new study, published in Nature, finds that climate-stressed farmland possesses only half the number of insects, on average, and 25% fewer insect species than areas of natural habitat.
Insect declines are greatest in high-intensity farmland areas within tropical countries – where the combined effects of climate change and habitat loss are experienced most profoundly.
The majority of the world’s estimated 5.5 million species are thought to live in these regions – meaning the planet’s greatest abundances of insect life may be suffering collapses without us even realising.
Lowering the intensity of farming by using fewer chemicals, having a greater diversity of crops and preserving some natural habitat can mitigate the negative effects of habitat loss and climate change on insects.
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2022/04/20/the-conversation-reduce-agricultural-chemicals-to-save-insects-from-climate-change/
