Signal Pollinators needed by over 75 percent of food crops; 60 percent of farmland lacks biodiversity

Summary

The report describes the biosphere as playing an important mediating role in tipping dynamics by stabilizing the climate and freshwater systems. At smaller scales, habitat loss and fragmentation from land-use change can shrink the ecosystem services that support human well-being. Intensively managed farmland is a prime example, where biodiversity is already depleted and services such as pollination and pest control are limited. About 60 percent of agricultural land is estimated to lack the biodiversity needed to provide these services. The report calls this alarming because pollinators are needed by more than three quarters of food crop species, including many central to current diets. Ecosystem degradation can also remove irreplaceable sources of feed, energy, materials and medicines and reduce carbon uptake, potentially speeding up climate change.