A Landscape View of Agricultural Insecticide Use across the Conterminous US from 1997 through 2012

Meehan, Timothy D.; Gratton, Claudio

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0166724

Cited by 32 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 65 publications

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“…Insect toxic load 205 increased despite a decrease in average application rate, which emphasizes the importance of 206 accounting for potency when assessing trends in insecticide use, as recently argued for herbicide 207 use (26,32). The pattern of divergence between decreasing application rate and increasing extent 208 and potency, combined with significant variation across agricultural regions, helps to explain and 209 reconcile the conflicting narratives of insecticide dependency that characterize recent research on 210 US insecticide use trends (19,(21)(22)(23)(24)32). 211…”

Section: Discussion 200mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Analyses derived from the Census of Agriculture suggest that seed treatments are at least partly 226 captured by that dataset (23,24), although the survey language is ambiguous (36). Consequently, 227 our estimate of insecticide extent is likely an underestimate.…”

Section: Discussion 200mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Missing 306 values occurred in the dataset when data were withheld to avoid disclosing information about 307 individual farm operations; this situation occurs mostly in cases where agricultural acreage in a 308 county is very low. In those cases, we imputed missing values with the average of values in other 309 years for that county if possible, or with zeros if values for the county were missing in all years 310 (24). Finally, counties were grouped into regions using a system developed by US Department of 311 Agriculture ('Farm Resource Regions') to capture geographic variation in farming systems 312 related to cropping patterns, similarities in soil and climate, and economic characteristics (30).…”

Section: Materials and Methods 278mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Conversely, data from the US Agricultural Census indicate that the extent of US insecticide use 100 has increased since 1997, precisely in those regions dominated by Bt corn production (22)(23)(24). 101…”

Section: Significance Statement 49mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Finally, insecticide use trends can vary substantially depending on the spatial scale 114 considered. Analyses at the national scale may obscure important local variation, particularly in 115 the US given the large size of the country, the concentration of different crop production systems 116 in particular areas, the divergent insecticide regimes associated with different crops, and regional 117 variation in pest pressure (24,30,31). Analyses at regional to local scales can help to target 118 insecticide mitigation efforts and facilitate research relating spatial patterns in insecticide use to 119 spatial patterns in important outcomes such as crop production, insecticide resistance, and 120 pollinator decline.…”

Section: Significance Statement 49mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Rising insecticide potency outweighs falling application rate to make US farmland increasingly hazardous to insects

et al. 2019

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28Each year, millions of kilograms of insecticides are applied to crops in the US. While insecticide 29 use supports food, fuel, and fiber production, it can also threaten non-target organisms, a concern 30 underscored by mounting evidence of widespread insect decline. Nevertheless, answers to basic 31 questions about the spatiotemporal patterns of insecticide use remain elusive, due in part to the 32 inherent complexity of insecticide use, and exacerbated by the dispersed nature of the relevant 33 data, divided between several government repositories. Here, we integrate these public datasets 34 to generate county-level annual estimates of total 'insect toxic load' (honey bee lethal doses) for 35 insecticides applied in the US between 1997-2012, calculated separately for oral and contact 36 toxicity. To explore the underlying drivers of the observed changes, we divide insect toxic load 37 into the components of extent (area treated) and intensity (application rate x potency). We show 38 that while contact-based insect toxic load remained relatively steady over the period of our 39 analysis, oral-based insect toxic load increased roughly 9-fold, with reductions in application rate 40 outweighed by disproportionate increases in potency (toxicity/kg) and increases in extent. This 41 pattern varied markedly by region, with the greatest increases seen in Heartland and Northern 42Great Plains regions, likely driven by use of neonicotinoid seed treatments in corn and soybean. 43In this "potency paradox," US farmland has become more hazardous to insects despite lower 44 volumes of insecticides applied, raising serious concerns about insect conservation and 45 highlighting the importance of integrative approaches to pesticide use monitoring. 46 47 48 the potency (toxicity/kg) of insecticides applied and in the area treated; the volume of 56 insecticides applied declined. Toxic load increased most dramatically in regions where 57 neonicotinoid seed treatments for field crops are commonly used. 58 59 395

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Section: Discussion 200mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussion 200mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Materials and Methods 278mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Significance Statement 49mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Significance Statement 49mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Rising insecticide potency outweighs falling application rate to make US farmland increasingly hazardous to insects

et al. 2019

Preprint

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Increased reliance on insecticide applications inCanada linked to simplified agricultural landscapes

Malaj

Morrissey

2022

Ecological Applications

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Intensification of agriculture and increased insecticide use have been implicated in global losses of farmland biodiversity and ecosystem services. We hypothesized that increased insecticide applications (proportion of area treated with insecticides) in Canada's expansive agricultural landscapes are due, in part, to shifts toward more simplified landscapes. To assess this relationship, we analyzed data from the Canadian Census of Agriculture spanning 20 years including five census periods (1996–2016) and across 225 census units within the four major agricultural regions of Pacific, Prairie, Central, and Atlantic Canada. Generalized mixed effects models were used to evaluate if changes in landscape simplification — defined as the proportion of farmland in crops (cereals, oilseeds, pulses and fruit/vegetables) — alongside other farming and climatic variables, influenced insecticide applications over time. Bayesian spatial–temporal models were further used to estimate the strength of the relationship with landscape simplification over time. We found that landscape simplification increased in 89% and insecticide applications increased in 70% of the Census Division spatial units during the 1996–2016 period. Nationally, significant increases in landscape simplification were observed in the two most agriculturally intensive regions of Prairie (from 55% to 63%) and Central (from 51% to 60%) Canada. For both regions, landscape simplification was a strong and significant predictor of higher insecticide applications, even after accounting for other factors such as climate, farm economics, farm size and land use practices (e.g., area in cash crops and tillage). If current trends continue, we estimated that insecticide applications will increase another 10%–20% by 2036 as a result of landscape simplification alone. To avoid increased reliance on toxic insecticides, agri‐environmental policies need to consider that losing diverse natural habitat can increase insect pest pressure and resistance with negative environmental consequences extending beyond the field.

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Responding to the US national pollinator plan: a case study in Michigan

Bloom

Graham

Haan

et al. 2021

Frontiers in Ecol & Environ

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P ollinating insects are essential to life on Earth, supporting the sustainability and resilience of natural habitats and agroecosystems (Williams et al. 2019;van Klink et al. 2020). Despite their importance, populations of insect pollinators face numerous challenges due to a combination of diseases, parasites, pesticides, climate change, and habitat loss (Goulson et al. 2015). As the international plight of pollinators has become more apparent, 16 nations have enacted pollinator supportive policies (FAO 2020). In the US, a 2014 Presidential Memorandum directed the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to co-lead a task force to create a strategy to promote the health of honey bees (Apis mellifera) and other pollinators (PHTF 2015). This task force released a national pollinator strategy in 2015 that included three key goals with timelines: (1) reduce honey bee overwintering losses in the US to no more than 15% by 2025, (2) increase the overwintering monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) population in Mexico to 6 ha by 2020 (as it is not feasible to count individuals, the area covered by overwintering monarchs is measured as a proxy for abundance), and (3) restore or enhance 7 million acres of habitat for pollinators in the US by 2020 (PHTF 2015). A Pollinator Research Action Plan (hereafter, "national plan") that highlighted the priorities for addressing the three goals was also developed (PHTF 2015). Michigan as a case studyFunding to address the national plan was made available through various routes, including the USDA. The USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) supported our research and extension team to address the goals in Michigan, a state reliant on wild bees and managed honey bees for crop pollination (Huang and Pett 2010) and containing summer breeding grounds of the eastern monarch butterfly (Flockhart et al. 2013). Because regional solutions to pollinator challenges are important, we highlight how our efforts in Michigan contribute to the national goals. We also draw on public databases to assess progress toward the national goals and show where further focus is needed. The year 2020 was a milestone year to achieve two of the three goals, providing an opportunity to revisit the strategy that inspired 5 years of work. Herein, we evaluate local and national progress and identify future needs for honey bees, monarch butterflies, and pollinator habitat to support wild bees.

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A Landscape View of Agricultural Insecticide Use across the Conterminous US from 1997 through 2012

Cited by 32 publications

References 65 publications

Rising insecticide potency outweighs falling application rate to make US farmland increasingly hazardous to insects

Rising insecticide potency outweighs falling application rate to make US farmland increasingly hazardous to insects

Increased reliance on insecticide applications inCanada linked to simplified agricultural landscapes

Responding to the US national pollinator plan: a case study in Michigan

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