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Lonsdorf EV, Rundlöf M, Nicholson CC, Williams NM. A spatially explicit model of landscape pesticide exposure to bees: Development, exploration, and evaluation. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 908:168146. [PMID: 37914120 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.168146] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2023] [Revised: 10/23/2023] [Accepted: 10/24/2023] [Indexed: 11/03/2023]
Abstract
Pesticides represent one of the greatest threats to bees and other beneficial insects in agricultural landscapes. Potential exposure is generated through compound- and crop-specific patterns of pesticide use over space and time and unique degradation behavior among compounds. Realized exposure develops through bees foraging from their nests across the spatiotemporal mosaic of floral resources and associated pesticides throughout the landscape. Despite the recognized importance of a landscape-wide approach to assessing exposure, we lack a sufficiently-evaluated predictive framework to inform mitigation decisions and environmental risk assessment for bees. We address this gap by developing a bee pesticide exposure model that incorporates spatiotemporal pesticide use patterns, estimated rates of pesticide degradation, floral resource dynamics across habitats, and bee foraging movements. We parameterized the model with pesticide use data from a public database containing crop-field- and date-specific records of uses throughout our study region over an entire year. We evaluate the model performance in predicting bee pesticide exposure using a dataset of pesticide residues in pollens gathered by bumble bees (Bombus vosnesenskii) returning to colonies across 14 spatially independent landscapes in Northern California. We applied alternative model formulations of pesticide accumulation and degradation, floral resource seasonality, and bee foraging behavior to evaluate different levels of detail for predicting observed pesticide exposure. Our best model explained 73 % of observed variation in pesticide exposure of bumble bee colonies, with generally positive correlations for the dominant compounds. Timing and location of pesticide use were integral, but more detailed parameterizations of pesticide degradation, floral resources, and bee foraging improved the predictions little if at all. Our results suggest that this approach to predict bees' pesticide exposure has value in extending from the local field scale to the landscape in environmental risk assessment and for exploring mitigation options to support bees in agricultural landscapes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric V Lonsdorf
- Department of Environmental Sciences, 400 Dowman Drive, 5th floor, Math & Science Center, Emory University, Atlanta 30322, GA, United States of America.
| | - Maj Rundlöf
- Department of Entomology and Nematology, University of California, One Shields Ave., Davis, CA 95616, United States of America; Department of Biology, Lund University, Ecology Building, Sölvegatan 37, 223 62 Lund, Sweden
| | - Charlie C Nicholson
- Department of Entomology and Nematology, University of California, One Shields Ave., Davis, CA 95616, United States of America; Department of Biology, Lund University, Ecology Building, Sölvegatan 37, 223 62 Lund, Sweden
| | - Neal M Williams
- Department of Entomology and Nematology, University of California, One Shields Ave., Davis, CA 95616, United States of America
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2
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Udias A, Galimberti F, Dorati C, Pistocchi A. Emissions of pesticides in the European Union: a new regional-level dataset. Sci Data 2023; 10:869. [PMID: 38052826 PMCID: PMC10698185 DOI: 10.1038/s41597-023-02753-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2022] [Accepted: 11/16/2023] [Indexed: 12/07/2023] Open
Abstract
We present a European Union (EU)-wide dataset of estimated quantities of active substances of plant protection product applied on crops (also called "emissions"). Our estimates are derived from data reported by eight EU countries and extrapolated to encompass all EU regions using regression models. These models consider both climate and agricultural land use data. This allows us to spatially represent pesticide use at NUTS Level 3 of the European statistical mapping units, and within various agricultural land cover classes in each region. We compare our estimates with aggregated data provided by EUROSTAT and with independent, detailed data for the United Kingdom, highlighting an error typically within one order of magnitude. Our estimates can provide insights into the distribution and patterns of pesticide use in the EU around the year 2015. The estimate is most reliable for Western and Southern Europe. Outside these regions, data scarcity makes extrapolation more uncertain, potentially limiting the ability to accurate depict regional variations in pesticide use.
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Affiliation(s)
- Angel Udias
- European Commission Joint Research Centre, Ispra, Italy.
- Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Madrid, Spain.
| | - Francesco Galimberti
- European Commission Joint Research Centre, Ispra, Italy
- ICPS International Centre for Pesticides and Health Risk Prevention, Milan, Italy
| | - Chiara Dorati
- European Commission Joint Research Centre, Ispra, Italy
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3
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Dalhaus T, Wu J, Möhring N. Rapidly growing subsidization of crop insurance in Europe ignores potential environmental effects. NATURE PLANTS 2023; 9:1938-1939. [PMID: 37990102 DOI: 10.1038/s41477-023-01569-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Tobias Dalhaus
- Business Economics Group, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
| | - Junjie Wu
- Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
| | - Niklas Möhring
- Business Economics Group, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands
- Production Economics Group, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
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4
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Schneider K, Barreiro-Hurle J, Rodriguez-Cerezo E. Pesticide reduction amidst food and feed security concerns in Europe. NATURE FOOD 2023; 4:746-750. [PMID: 37735511 PMCID: PMC10516746 DOI: 10.1038/s43016-023-00834-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2023] [Accepted: 08/07/2023] [Indexed: 09/23/2023]
Abstract
Recent studies have estimated the potential yield impacts of pesticide reductions in the European Union. While these estimates guide policy design, they are often based on worst-case assumptions and rarely account for positive ecological feedbacks that would contribute to sustainable crop yields in the long term.
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5
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Zaller JG, Oswald A, Wildenberg M, Burtscher-Schaden H, Nadeem I, Formayer H, Paredes D. Potential to reduce pesticides in intensive apple production through management practices could be challenged by climatic extremes. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 872:162237. [PMID: 36796687 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.162237] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2022] [Revised: 02/03/2023] [Accepted: 02/09/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Apples are the third most produced fruit in the world, but their production is often pesticide-intensive. Our objective was to identify options for pesticide reduction using farmer records from 2549 commercial apple fields in Austria during five years between 2010 and 2016. Using generalized additive mixed modeling, we examined how pesticide use was related to farm management, apple varieties, and meteorological parameters, and how it affected yields and toxicity to honeybees. Apple fields received 29.5 ± 8.6 (mean ± SD) pesticide applications per season at a rate of 56.7 ± 22.7 kg ha-1, which included a total of 228 pesticide products with 80 active ingredients. Over the years, fungicides accounted for 71 % of the pesticide amounts applied, insecticides for 15 %, and herbicides for 8 %. The most frequently used fungicides were sulfur (52 %), followed by captan (16 %) and dithianon (11 %). Of insecticides, paraffin oil (75 %) and chlorpyrifos/chlorpyrifos-methyl (6 % combined) were most frequently used. Among herbicides, glyphosate (54 %), CPA (20 %) and pendimethalin (12 %) were most often used. Pesticide use increased with increasing frequency of tillage and fertilization, increasing field size, increasing spring temperatures, and drier summer conditions. Pesticide use decreased with increasing number of summer days with maximum temperatures >30 °C and number of warm, humid days. Apple yields were significantly positively related to the number of heat days, warm humid nights, and pesticide treatment frequency, but were not affected by frequency of fertilization and tillage. Honeybee toxicity was not related to insecticide use. Pesticide use and yield were significantly related to apple varieties. Our analysis shows that pesticide use in the apple farms studied can be reduced by less fertilization and tillage, partly because yields were >50 % higher than the European average. However, weather extremes related to climate change, such as drier summers, could challenge plans to reduce pesticide use.
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Affiliation(s)
- Johann G Zaller
- University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna (BOKU), Department of Integrative Biology and Biodiversity Research, Institute of Zoology, Gregor Mendel Straße 33, 1180 Vienna, Austria.
| | - Andreas Oswald
- University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna (BOKU), Department of Integrative Biology and Biodiversity Research, Institute of Zoology, Gregor Mendel Straße 33, 1180 Vienna, Austria
| | - Martin Wildenberg
- Environmental Research Institute & Environmental Organization Global2000/Friends of the Earth Austria, Neustiftgasse 36, 1070 Vienna, Austria
| | - Helmut Burtscher-Schaden
- Environmental Research Institute & Environmental Organization Global2000/Friends of the Earth Austria, Neustiftgasse 36, 1070 Vienna, Austria
| | - Imran Nadeem
- University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna (BOKU), Department of Water, Atmosphere and Environment, Institute of Meteorology and Climatology, Peter-Jordan Straße 82, 1180 Vienna, Austria
| | - Herbert Formayer
- University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna (BOKU), Department of Water, Atmosphere and Environment, Institute of Meteorology and Climatology, Peter-Jordan Straße 82, 1180 Vienna, Austria
| | - Daniel Paredes
- Universidad de Extremadura, Environmental Resources Analysis Research Group, Department of Plant Biology, Ecology and Earth Sciences, Badajoz, Spain
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6
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Straw EA, Kelly E, Stanley DA. Self-reported assessment of compliance with pesticide rules. ECOTOXICOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY 2023; 254:114692. [PMID: 36950982 DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2023.114692] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2022] [Revised: 02/13/2023] [Accepted: 02/23/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
How pesticides are used is very important in determining the risk they pose to both the user, and the environment. Given they can have toxic properties, if pesticides are misused they could cause serious harm to the users health as well as a range of environmental damage. Despite this, very little research has quantified whether agricultural use of pesticides is compliant with the legally binding obligations and associated guidance surrounding application. In this survey we used an online, fully anonymous, questionnaire to ask Irish farmers about how they use pesticides. We used a self-reporting methodology, directly asking farmers about their compliance levels. We had a total of 76 unique valid respondents. Our respondents covered the broad range of Irish agriculture, and we quantified how this relates to national demographics. Overall compliance regarding pesticide use was high, with the majority of respondents complying the majority of the time. However, we also found a sizable group who report low compliance levels for certain topics. Respondents reported the highest levels of non-compliance with the use of personal protective equipment, with nearly half of all respondents admitting to not wearing certain required protective equipment on a regular basis. In contrast, for some areas like application rate, very high compliance was reported. Moderate levels of non-compliance with bee protective mitigation measures were found, and some reported practices like not emptying or washing out the spray tank between sprays could have serious impacts on pollinators, soil organisms and other non-targets. Additionally, a minority of respondents admitted to actions which could cause serious water course pollution. As the first survey on a range of pesticide compliance topics within a developed nation, the compliance seen is very high compared to levels in developing nations. Our results demonstrate that the assumption that all legal obligations and guidance surrounding pesticide use are followed is unfounded, but that the majority of the respondents are mostly compliant. Education or enforcement should be targeted to certain areas where compliance is weakest to minimise harm from pesticide use. Reducing the non-compliance we report here could benefit both farmer and environmental health, and ensure that pesticides are used in a manner that risk assessment has deemed safe.
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Affiliation(s)
- Edward A Straw
- School of Agriculture and Food Science, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
| | - Edel Kelly
- School of Agriculture and Food Science, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Dara A Stanley
- School of Agriculture and Food Science, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
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7
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Linguadoca A, Jürison M, Hellström S, Straw EA, Šima P, Karise R, Costa C, Serra G, Colombo R, Paxton RJ, Mänd M, Brown MJF. Intra-specific variation in sensitivity of Bombus terrestris and Osmia bicornis to three pesticides. Sci Rep 2022; 12:17311. [PMID: 36243795 PMCID: PMC9569340 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-22239-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2022] [Accepted: 10/11/2022] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
There is growing evidence that pesticides may be among the causes of worldwide bee declines, which has resulted in repeated calls for their increased scrutiny in regulatory assessments. One recurring concern is that the current frameworks may be biased towards assessing risks to the honey bee. This paradigm requires extrapolating toxicity information across bee species. Most research effort has therefore focused on quantifying differences in sensitivity across species. However, our understanding of how responses to pesticides may vary within a species is still very poor. Here we take the first steps towards filling this knowledge gap by comparing acute, lethal hazards in sexes and castes of the eusocial bee Bombus terrestris and in sexes of the solitary bee Osmia bicornis after oral and contact exposure to the pesticides sulfoxaflor, Amistar (azoxystrobin) and glyphosate. We show that sensitivity towards pesticides varies significantly both within and across species. Bee weight was a meaningful predictor of pesticide susceptibility. However, weight could not fully explain the observed differences, which suggests the existence of unexplored mechanisms regulating pesticide sensitivity across bee sexes and castes. Our data show that intra-specific responses are an overlooked yet important aspect of the risk assessment of pesticides in bees.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alberto Linguadoca
- Centre for Ecology, Evolution & Behaviour, Department of Biological Sciences, School for Life Sciences and the Environment, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, UK
- Pesticide Peer Review Unit, European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), via Carlo Magno 1A, 43126, Parma, Italy
| | - Margret Jürison
- Chair of Plant Health, Institute of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Tartu, Estonia.
| | - Sara Hellström
- General Zoology, Institute for Biology, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany
| | - Edward A Straw
- Centre for Ecology, Evolution & Behaviour, Department of Biological Sciences, School for Life Sciences and the Environment, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, UK
| | - Peter Šima
- Department of R&D, Koppert s.r.o., Nové Zámky, Slovakia
| | - Reet Karise
- Chair of Plant Health, Institute of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Cecilia Costa
- CREA Research Centre for Agriculture and Environment, via di Corticella 133, 40128, Bologna, Italy
| | - Giorgia Serra
- CREA Research Centre for Agriculture and Environment, via di Corticella 133, 40128, Bologna, Italy
| | - Roberto Colombo
- CREA Research Centre for Agriculture and Environment, via di Corticella 133, 40128, Bologna, Italy
| | - Robert J Paxton
- General Zoology, Institute for Biology, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany
| | - Marika Mänd
- Chair of Plant Health, Institute of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Mark J F Brown
- Centre for Ecology, Evolution & Behaviour, Department of Biological Sciences, School for Life Sciences and the Environment, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, UK
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8
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Zaller JG, Kruse-Plaß M, Schlechtriemen U, Gruber E, Peer M, Nadeem I, Formayer H, Hutter HP, Landler L. Pesticides in ambient air, influenced by surrounding land use and weather, pose a potential threat to biodiversity and humans. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2022; 838:156012. [PMID: 35597361 PMCID: PMC7614392 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.156012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2022] [Revised: 04/08/2022] [Accepted: 05/12/2022] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
Little is known about (i) how numbers and concentrations of airborne pesticide residues are influenced by land use, interactions with meteorological parameters, or by substance-specific chemo-physical properties, and (ii) what potential toxicological hazards this could pose to non-target organisms including humans. We installed passive air samplers (polyurethane PUF and polyester PEF filter matrices) in 15 regions with different land uses in eastern Austria for up to 8 months. Samples were analyzed for 566 substances by gas-chromatography/mass-spectrometry. We analyzed relationships between frequency and concentrations of pesticides, land use, meteorological parameters, substance properties, and season. We found totally 67 pesticide active ingredients (24 herbicides, 30 fungicides, 13 insecticides) with 10-53 pesticides per site. Herbicides metolachlor, pendimethalin, prosulfocarb, terbuthylazine, and the fungicide HCB were found in all PUF samplers, and glyphosate in all PEF samplers; chlorpyrifos-ethyl was the most abundant insecticide found in 93% of the samplers. Highest concentrations showed the herbicide prosulfocarb (725 ± 1218 ng sample-1), the fungicide folpet (412 ± 465 ng sample-1), and the insecticide chlorpyrifos-ethyl (110 ± 98 ng sample-1). Pesticide numbers and concentrations increased with increasing proportions of arable land in the surroundings. However, pesticides were also found in two National Parks (10 and 33 pesticides) or a city center (17 pesticides). Pesticide numbers and concentrations changed between seasons and correlated with land use, temperature, radiation, and wind, but were unaffected by substance volatility. Potential ecotoxicological exposure of mammals, birds, earthworms, fish, and honeybees increased with increasing pesticide numbers and concentrations. Human toxicity potential of detected pesticides was high, with averaged 54% being acutely toxic, 39% reproduction toxic, 24% cancerogenic, and 10% endocrine disrupting. This widespread pesticide air pollution indicates that current environmental risk assessments, field application techniques, protective measures, and regulations are inadequate to protect the environment and humans from potentially harmful exposure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Johann G Zaller
- University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna (BOKU), Department of Integrative Biology and Biodiversity Research, Institute of Zoology, Gregor Mendel Straße 33, 1180 Vienna, Austria.
| | - Maren Kruse-Plaß
- TIEM Integrated Environmental Monitoring, 95615 Marktredwitz, Germany
| | - Ulrich Schlechtriemen
- TIEM Integrated Environmental Monitoring, Hohenzollernstr. 20, 44135 Dortmund, Germany
| | - Edith Gruber
- University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna (BOKU), Department of Integrative Biology and Biodiversity Research, Institute of Zoology, Gregor Mendel Straße 33, 1180 Vienna, Austria
| | - Maria Peer
- University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna (BOKU), Department of Integrative Biology and Biodiversity Research, Institute of Zoology, Gregor Mendel Straße 33, 1180 Vienna, Austria
| | - Imran Nadeem
- University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna (BOKU), Department of Water, Atmosphere and Environment, Institute of Meteorology and Climatology, Peter-Jordan Straße 82, 1180 Vienna, Austria
| | - Herbert Formayer
- University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna (BOKU), Department of Water, Atmosphere and Environment, Institute of Meteorology and Climatology, Peter-Jordan Straße 82, 1180 Vienna, Austria
| | - Hans-Peter Hutter
- Department of Environmental Health, Center for Public Health, Medical University Vienna, Kinderspitalgasse 15, 1090 Vienna, Austria
| | - Lukas Landler
- University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna (BOKU), Department of Integrative Biology and Biodiversity Research, Institute of Zoology, Gregor Mendel Straße 33, 1180 Vienna, Austria
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9
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López-Ballesteros A, Delaney A, Quirke J, Stout JC, Saunders M, Carolan JC, White B, Stanley DA. Assessing availability of European plant protection product data: an example evaluating basic area treated. PeerJ 2022; 10:e13586. [PMID: 35855900 PMCID: PMC9288163 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.13586] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2022] [Accepted: 05/23/2022] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Besides the benefits of plant protection products (PPPs) for agricultural production, there is an increasing acknowledgement of the associated potential environmental risks. Here, we examine the feasibility of summarizing the extent of PPP usage at the country level, using Ireland as a case study, as well as at the European level. We used the area over which PPPs are applied (basic area) as an example variable that is relevant to initially assess the geographic extent of environmental risk. In Irish agricultural systems, which are primarily grass-based, herbicides fluroxypyr and glyphosate are the most widely applied active substances (ASs) in terms of basic area, followed by the fungicides chlorothalonil and prothioconazole that are closely associated with arable crops. Although all EU countries are subject to Regulation (EC) No 1185/2009, which sets the obligation of PPP usage data reporting at the national level, we only found usable data that met our criteria for Estonia, Germany, Finland, and Spain (4 of 30 countries reviewed). Overall, the most widely applied fungicide and herbicide in terms of basic area were prothioconazole (20%, 7% and 5% of national cultivated areas of Germany, Estonia and Ireland) and glyphosate (11%, 8% and 5% of national cultivated areas of Spain, Estonia and Ireland) respectively, although evaluations using application frequency may result in the observation of different trends. Several recommendations are proposed to tackle current data gaps and deficiencies in accessibility and usability of pesticide usage data across the EU in order to better inform environmental risk assessment and promote evidence-based policymaking.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana López-Ballesteros
- Department of Agricultural and Forest Systems and the Environment, Agrifood Research and Technology Centre of Aragon (CITA), Zaragoza, Spain,School of Agriculture and Food Science, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Aoife Delaney
- School of Agriculture and Food Science, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland,National Parks and Wildlife Service, Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Dublin, Ireland
| | - James Quirke
- Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Backweston, Kildare, Ireland
| | - Jane C. Stout
- Department of Botany, School of Natural Sciences, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Matthew Saunders
- Department of Botany, School of Natural Sciences, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - James C. Carolan
- Department of Biology, Maynooth University, Maynooth, Kildare, Ireland
| | - Blánaid White
- School of Chemical Sciences, DCU Water Institute, Dublin City University, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Dara A. Stanley
- School of Agriculture and Food Science, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
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10
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PestOn: An Ontology to Make Pesticides Information Easily Accessible and Interoperable. SUSTAINABILITY 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/su14116673] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
Globally, present regulations treat pesticide use with a light touch, leaving users with scarce reporting requirements in the field. However, numerous initiatives have been undertaken to reduce risks from pesticide product use and provide the public with sufficient information. Nevertheless, food chain actors are not required to disclose much information on hazards, with many undervalued safety aspects. This situation has resulted in information gaps concerning the production, authorization, use, and impact of pesticide products for both consumers and regulatory stakeholders. Often, the public cannot directly access relevant information about pesticides with respect to retail products and their farm origins. National authorities have poor legal tools to efficiently carry out complete investigations and take action to mitigate pesticide externalities. We created the ontology PestOn to bridge these gaps and directly access pesticide product information, making existing data more useful and improving information flow in food value chains. This demonstration project shows how to integrate various existing ontologies to maximize interoperability with related information on the semantic web. As a semantic tool, it can help address food quality, food safety, and information disclosure challenges, opening up several opportunities for food value chain actors and the public. In its first version, the ontology PestOn accounts for more than 16,000 pesticide products that were authorized in Italy during the last 50 years and retrieved from the public pesticide register. The ontology includes information about active ingredients contained in pesticide products, roles, hazards, production companies, authorization status, and regulatory dates. These pieces of information can support agri-food stakeholders in classifying information in the domain of pesticide products and their active ingredients, while reducing unnecessary repetition in research. PestOn can support the addition of food attributes in the domains of human health, resource depletion, and eco-social impact, turning the spotlight on each possible improper use of pesticide products.
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11
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Möhring N, Finger R, Dalhaus T. Extreme heat reduces insecticide use under real field conditions. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2022; 819:152043. [PMID: 34856258 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.152043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2021] [Revised: 11/05/2021] [Accepted: 11/24/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Insecticide use and its adverse environmental and health effects are expected to further increase in a warming climate. We here show that farmers' insecticide use, however, declines substantially when facing extreme heat. Using the example of Colorado potato beetles (Leptinotarsa decemlineata) in Switzerland, we find an 11.5% reduction of insecticide use for each day and degree that maximum temperatures exceed 34 °C in the potato growing season. Importantly, our analysis accounts for farmers' behavior under real field conditions, considering the potential adaption of farming practices to extreme heat. It, therefore, highlights how to combine methods to assess and improve our knowledge on the combined major challenges of reducing pesticide risks and coping with the effects of climate change on agriculture while accounting for human behavior. In the analysis, we provide various robustness checks with regard to the definition of temperature extremes, pesticide use indicators, and the chosen statistical model. We further distinguish the principal drivers of the identified effect and find strong evidence that insecticide use reductions are mainly driven by heat-induced decreases in pest pressure rather than heat-induced yield losses that render insecticide applications too expensive. We conclude that similar investigations for other crops and countries are required to assess and understand farmers changing pesticide use decisions under climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Niklas Möhring
- Agricultural Economics and Policy Group, ETH, Zurich, Switzerland; Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé, UMR 7372, CNRS and La Rochelle Université, 79360, Villiers-en-Bois, France.
| | - Robert Finger
- Agricultural Economics and Policy Group, ETH, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Tobias Dalhaus
- Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen, Netherlands
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12
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Straw EA, Thompson LJ, Leadbeater E, Brown MJF. 'Inert' ingredients are understudied, potentially dangerous to bees and deserve more research attention. Proc Biol Sci 2022; 289:20212353. [PMID: 35232234 PMCID: PMC8889201 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2021.2353] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2021] [Accepted: 01/28/2022] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Agrochemical formulations are composed of two broad groups of chemicals: active ingredients, which confer pest control action, and 'inert' ingredients, which facilitate the action of the active ingredient. Most research into the effects of agrochemicals focusses on the effects of active ingredients. This reflects the assumption that 'inert' ingredients are non-toxic. A review of relevant research shows that for bees, this assumption is without empirical foundation. After conducting a systematic literature search, we found just 19 studies that tested the effects of 'inert' ingredients on bee health. In these studies, 'inert' ingredients were found to cause mortality in bees through multiple exposure routes, act synergistically with other stressors and cause colony level effects. This lack of research is compounded by a lack of diversity in study organism used. We argue that 'inert' ingredients have distinct, and poorly understood, ecological persistency profiles and toxicities, making research into their individual effects necessary. We highlight the lack of mitigation in place to protect bees from 'inert' ingredients and argue that research efforts should be redistributed to address the knowledge gap identified here. If so-called 'inert' ingredients are, in fact, detrimental to bee health, their potential role in widespread bee declines needs urgent assessment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Edward A. Straw
- Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Behaviour, Department of Biological Sciences, School of Life Sciences and the Environment, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX, UK
- Department of Agriculture and Food Science, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Linzi J. Thompson
- Department of Agriculture and Food Science, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Ellouise Leadbeater
- Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Behaviour, Department of Biological Sciences, School of Life Sciences and the Environment, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX, UK
| | - Mark J. F. Brown
- Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Behaviour, Department of Biological Sciences, School of Life Sciences and the Environment, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX, UK
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