Tag: Diversity

Grasslands cover 30–40% of European agricultural areas. Agri-environmental schemes leading to even small changes in grassland biodiversity could elicit extensive benefits. A new study on working farms in southwest England highlights the contribution of the plant diversity of the grassland to the abundance and diversity of insect pollinators and their potential to increase crop yields. […]

As conventional chemical pesticides continue to be withdrawn from the market, integrated pest management (IPM) programmes are increasingly incorporating alternative forms of control. UK researchers are also honing in on IPM to help improve the sustainable production of crops, with one novel industry-funded study focusing on the health of, and natural predation in, new orchards. […]