Agricultural Intensification Causes Decline in Insect Biodiversity

Abstract

The world’s population exceeded 7 billion in late 2011 and it is expected to reach 9.3 billion by 2050. Meanwhile, demand for food is predicted to increase between 50 and 100% by 2050. To meet the food demands of the increasing population, agricultural intensification practices including growing monocultures of high-yielding crop varieties and increased applications of fertilizers and pesticides have been used to increase productivity. These practices, however, impact negatively on biodiversity of existing flora and fauna, particularly causing huge declines in insect biodiversity. This chapter reviews present state of knowledge about agricultural intensification practices and global decline of insect biodiversity (i.e., pest and beneficial insect species) in intensive agricultural system and point out the likely drivers of these declines. It concludes the review by examining sustainable agricultural intensification practices that could be used to mitigate these biodiversity declines while maintaining productivity in intensive agricultural systems.