Does Low Biodiversity Resulting from Modern Agricultural Practice Affect Crop Pollination and Yield?

Abstract

This Botanical Briefing examines the hypothesis that modern agricultural practice affects natural biotic pollination to the extent that crop yields suffer. Few staple foods depend on animal pollination and relatively few other crops are totally dependent on animal pollination. However, there are many crops of local economic importance whose yield or quality may be enhanced by good pollinator activity: studies of these deserve more attention. Amongst those cases already documented, intensification and habitat loss are the most frequent causes of pollinator impoverishment reducing crop yield. As yet there is no clear example of low crop yield resulting from the effect of pesticides or transgenic plants on pollinators, and only one example involving herbicides, although each of these agents can affect populations of crop pollinators. Copyright 2001 Annals of Botany Company