Persistent negativeeffectsofpesticidesonbiodiversityandbiological control potentialonEuropeanfarmland

Flavia Geiger , Jan Bengtsson , Franck Berendse (1) , Wolfgang W. Weisser , Mark Emmerson , Manuel B. Morales , Piotr Ceryngier , Jaan Liira , Teja Tscharntke , Camilla Winqvist , Sönke Eggers , Riccardo Bommarco , T. Pärt , Vincent Bretagnolle (2) , Manuel Plantegenest (3) , Lars W. Clément , C. Dennis , Catherine Palmer , Juan J. Oñate , Irene Guerrero , Violetta Hawro , Tsipe Aavik , Carsten Thies , Andreas Flohre , Sebastian Hänke , Christina Fischer , Paul W. Goedhart , Pablo Inchausti (2)

1 Nature Conservation and Plant Ecology group
2 CEBC - Centre d'Études Biologiques de Chizé
3 BIO3P - Biologie des organismes et des populations appliquées à la protection des plantes

During thelast50years,agriculturalintensificationhascaused manywildplantandanimalspeciestogoextinctregionally or nationallyandhasprofoundlychangedthefunctioningofagro-ecosystems.Agricultural intensificationhasmany components, suchaslossoflandscapeelements,enlargedfarmand fieldsizesandlargerinputsoffertilizerandpesticides. However, verylittleisknownabouttherelative contributionofthesevariablesto thelarge-scalenegativeeffectson biodiversity. Inthisstudy,wedisentangled theimpactsofvariouscomponentsofagriculturalintensificationonspecies diversity ofwildplants,carabidsandground-nestingfarmlandbirdsandonthebiologicalcontrolofaphids. In aEurope-widestudyineightWestandEastEuropeancountries,wefoundimportantnegativeeffectsof agriculturalintensificationonwildplant,carabidandbirdspeciesdiversityandonthepotentialforbiologicalpest control,asestimatedfromthenumberofaphidstakenbypredators.Ofthe13componentsofintensificationwe measured,useofinsecticidesandfungicideshadconsistentnegativeeffectsonbiodiversity.Insecticidesalsoreduced the biologicalcontrolpotential.Organicfarmingandotheragri-environmentschemesaimingtomitigatethenegative effectsofintensivefarmingonbiodiversitydidincreasethediversityofwildplantandcarabidspecies,but–contrary to ourexpectations–notthediversityofbreedingbirds. We concludethatdespitedecadesofEuropeanpolicytobanharmfulpesticides,thenegativeeffectsofpesticideson wild plantandanimalspeciespersist,atthesametimereducingtheopportunitiesforbiologicalpestcontrol.If biodiversityistoberestoredinEuropeandopportunitiesaretobecreatedforcropproductionutilizingbiodiversity- based ecosystemservicessuchasbiologicalpestcontrol,theremustbeaEurope-wideshifttowardsfarmingwith minimaluseofpesticidesoverlargeareas.

Mots clés: ORGANIC FARMING; CARABIDS; BIRDS

Mots clés: AGRICULTURAL INTENSIFICATION; AGRI-ENVIRONMENT SCHEMES; VASCULAR PLANTS

Domaines: Sciences de l'environnement

Flavia Geiger, Jan Bengtsson, Franck Berendse, Wolfgang W. Weisser, Mark Emmerson, et al.. Persistent negativeeffectsofpesticidesonbiodiversityandbiological control potentialonEuropeanfarmland. Basic and Applied Ecology, 2010, 11 (2), pp.97-105. ⟨10.1016/j.baae.2009.12.001⟩. ⟨hal-00527709⟩