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Pests to Eat More Crops in Warmer World

posted by martyb on Sunday September 09 2018, @05:11PM   
from the climate-needs-some-serious-debugging dept.

takyon writes:

Pests to eat more crops in warmer world

Insects will be at the heart of worldwide crop losses as the climate warms up, predicts a US study. Scientists estimate the pests will be eating 10-25% more wheat, rice and maize across the globe for each one degree rise in climate temperature.

Warming drives insect energy use and prompts them to eat more. Their populations can also increase. This is bound to put pressure on the world's leading cereal crops, says study co-author Curtis Deutsch.

"Insect pests currently consume the equivalent of one out of every 12 loaves of bread (before they ever get made). By the end of this century, if climate change continues unabated, insects will be eating more than two loaves of every 12 that could have been made," the University of Washington, US, researcher told BBC News.

Increase in crop losses to insect pests in a warming climate (DOI: 10.1126/science.aat3466) (DX)

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Original Submission

• Re:What could go wrong? Re:What could go wrong? (Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 09 2018, @09:43PM (1 child)

  by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 09 2018, @09:43PM (#732595)

  In German nature reserves, flying insect populations have declined by more than 75% over the duration of the 27-year study.

  "The flying insect community as a whole... has been decimated over the last few decades," said the study, which was conducted by Researchers from Radboud University in the Netherlands and the Entomological Society Krefeld in Germany.
  "Loss of insect diversity and abundance is expected to provoke cascading effects on food webs and to jeopardize ecosystem services."
  Co-author Caspar Hallman said he and his colleagues were "very, very surprised" by the results.
  "These are not agricultural areas, these are locations meant to preserve biodiversity, but still we see the insects slipping out of our hands," he told CNN.

  And the reason they only report this happening in Germany? They're the only country that bothers to monitor their insect population. Maybe to time to squeeze the science budget some more.

  https://edition.cnn.com/2017/10/19/europe/insect-decline-germany/index.html [cnn.com]

  Parent

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• Re:What could go wrong? (Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Tuesday September 11 2018, @02:36AM

  by JoeMerchant (3937) on Tuesday September 11 2018, @02:36AM (#733023)

  We got a robot lawnmower, it keeps 90% of our lawn "well groomed" like the suburban fantasy. The other 10% I let go much more natural - weeds 2 meters tall, everything allowed to bloom, etc. The contrast in flying insect density is amazing. Bugs love thick weeds with flowers, and what do we systematically destroy just about everywhere we go?

  --
  🌻🌻 [google.com]

  Parent