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EddieAbellana
ProfessorLudwig
English101
24April2016
BiodiversityLossInAgriculture
Agriculturalbiodiversityisatermwhichincludesallcomponentsofbiologicaldiversity
thatrelatestofoodandagriculture
(WhatIsAgriculturalBiodiversity?).Whatcanbereadin
WhatisAgriculturalBiodiversity?alsostatesthatit
includesallcomponentsofbiological
diversitythatconstitutetheagriculturalecosystemswhichhelpsmaintainthebalanceof
agriculturalbiodiversity.

An
agriculturalecosystemisdefinedbythevarietyandvariabilityof
animals,plantsandmicroorganisms
(TheAgriculturalEcosystem)
.Bothofagricultural
biodiversityandtheagriculturalecosystemareneededtosustainlivableconditionsthatareseen
throughoutfarms.Agriculturalbiodiversityisimportanttothecropsoffarmersandtheir
livestock,butitisslowlydecliningduetoinappropriateuseofpesticides,climatechange,and
actionsformasscropextinctionnotbeingprevented.
Farmershavetoputinalotofworktoproducehighyieldsfromtheircrops.Theirfarms
requireaprotectivecoattokeeptheircropssafefromunwantedinsectsandanimalssothattheir
seasonalharvestwillbeprofitable.Toprotecttheircropsfrominvasiveinsects,farmerswilluse
pesticides.Pesticideasdefinedis
achemicalpreparationfordestroyingplant,fungal,oranimal
pests
(pesticide).Theuseofpesticides,insecticides,orherbicideshasanegativeeffecttothe
agriculturalbiodiversityintheagriculturalecosystem.Itsharmfulduetoitbeinghazardousto
pollinatorswhichhelpthegrowthofcrops.Amajorpollinatorthathassuccumbedtotheeffects


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ofpesticidesarehoneybees.AccordingtoMarlaSpivakduringherTedtalk,shesays,There
hasbeena300percentincreaseincropproductionthatrequiresbeepollination.That'squitethe
increaseandevenmoreforalittlehoneybeetopollinate.Butiffarmersusepesticidestohelp
protecttheircrops,italsomeanskillingthehoneybeesthatpollinatetheircrops.Spivakalso
statesthat,thateverybatchofpollenthatahoneybeecollectshasatleastsixdetectable
pesticidesinit.Thisquotefrom
Jarvisetal.
states,Lessunderstood,andoftenoverlooked,is
theproblemofsublethaleffectsthatreducelongevityandadverselyaffectforaging,memory,
andnavigationalabilitiesofsomebees(MacKenzie1993)(Padochetal.).
Itisdifficultto
protectfarmswithouttheuseofpesticides,butthereareotherwaystokeepcropssafefrom
unwantedpests.

Farmersshouldrotatetheircropsandnotsticktoonlyoneplantallseasonlong.
AccordingtoSalinger,Rotatingcropshelpspreventpestsfromgettingusedtothetypeofplant
thatisbeingcultivated.Plantingdifferentspeciesofcropseachgrowingseasonalsopromotes
soilfertility.Anotherwayofkeepingpestsoutofcropsistosurroundthemwithplantsthat
naturallykeepinsectsaway(HowtoProtectYourCropsfromPests:IPM.).Therearemore
solutionstoprotectcropsfromintrudersbut
iffarmerskeepusingpesticides,thentheywillneed
trainingandknowwhentoregulatetheuseofpesticides.Inasectionfrom
Managing
BiodiversityinAgriculturalEcosystems
,itstatedthattheuseoffenitrothioninNewBrunswick
...causedsuchdrasticreductionsinpollinatorabundanceanddiversitythatblueberryyieldsfell
statisticallybelowthelevelsexpected(Kevan1999)(Padochetal.).Buttheuseofpesticides
andotherchemicalsinagricultureisnottheonlyreasonthatbiodiversityisdecreasing.
Climatechangehasbeenabigtopicinmassmediaforquitesometimenowandis
anotherreasonwhybiodiversitywithinanagriculturalecosystemisdeclining.Climatechangeor


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globalwarmingisalongtermchangeintheearthsclimate...duetoanincreaseinthe
averageatmospherictemperature(
climatechange
).Thiscanaffectagriculturalbiodiversityin
manyways,oneofthembeingwatersupply.Waterisavitalpartoflifeandwithoutit,there
wouldbenogrowthofcrops.In
ClimateChangeImpactsOnGlobalAgriculture
theauthors
write,Futureclimatechangewouldmodifyregionalwaterendowmentsandsoilmoisture,and
inresponsethedistributionofharvestedlandwouldchange.theyalsoaddthatirrigated
farmingcanbecomeunsustainableinregionssubjecttowatershortages(Calzadillaetal.).As
theclimatechangesyearround,wildlifespeciesareaffectedaswell.Accordingtoamodelfrom
Leeetal.,theystudied15rainfedcropsandover1200birds.Theyspecificallyused
restrictedrangebirdsbecausetheyrepresentuniqueelementsinregionalecosystems,have
smallrangesizethatmakethemvulnerabletoclimatechange(Leeetal.).Thisdatawasthen
appliedtoasubcontinentofIndiawhichemergesasanareaofagriculturaldeclineinbothour
resultsandinthoseofotherstudies(Leeetal.).Withoutpropermaintenanceofagricultural
biodiversity,resiliencefromclimatechangecannotbestrengthened.Mijatovicetal.writes,

Climatechangeaffectsagricultureinanumberofways...farmersfaceincreasinglyerratic
rainfall,alteredseasonalweatherpatternsandamorefrequentoccurrenceofadverseweather
events,floodsanddrought
(2013).AnotherstatistictoaddisfromCaryFowlersTedtalkto
wherehestatesthat,in2030,we'llhavea30percentdecreaseinproductionofmaize(corn)
becauseoftheclimatechangealreadyin2030.JillFarranttalksaboutdroughttolerantcrops
andhowtheycansurvivetolimiteduseofwaterandsotohelppreventorslowtheeffectsof
climatechange,callsforfarmerstothinkoutsidetheboxandbemorecreativeonhowtomanage
theircropstobemoreresilienttoclimatechange.


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Foodisanecessitythathumansasawholeneedtosurvive.Fortheagriculturalsystemto
survive,itneedsthecareofhumans.ButbiologicaldiversityforcropsisindeclineandCary
FowlermakesapointinhisTedtalkthatthisdiversityisbeinglost.Hestatesthattheworld
has200,000varietiesofwheatand400,000varietiesofricewhichagainisbeinglost.Fowler
alsosaysthat6,800applesoutof7,100applesarenowextinct.
AccordingtoTheCropTrust:

Thelossofbiodiversityisoneoftodaysmostseriousenvironmentalconcerns.
Accordingtosomeestimates,ifcurrenttrendspersistasmanyashalfofallplant
speciescouldfaceextinction.Amongthemanythreatenedspeciesarewildrelatives
ofourcropsspeciesthatcouldcontributeinvaluabletraitstofuturecropvarieties.It
hasbeenestimatedthat6%ofwildrelativesofcerealcrops(wheat,maize,rice,
sorghumetc.)areunderthreatasare18%oflegumespecies(thewildrelativesof
beans,peasandlentils)and13%ofspecieswithinthebotanicalfamilythatincludes
potato,tomato,eggplant,andpepper.

Thesenumbersapplytoagriculturalbiodiversityandrepresentsitsdecline,amassextinction.To
helppreventthiscropextinctionandlossofdiversity,Fowlersuggestedandhasmadeitpossible
tostoredifferentdiversecropsinSvalbard,Norway.
ThisplacethatFowlerhasmentionedinhis
TedTalkiscalledtheGlobalSeedVault.ThisseedvaultiskeptinEarthsnaturalcoldclimate
conditionsthatisminusfourtominusfivecelsius.Theseedsthatarekeptinsidethreestorage
vaults,whichonlyoneisbeingcurrentlyusedandarenevertouchedbythepeoplewhowork
there.Theonlytimetheworkerstouchtheseedsiswhentheycomeinandtheboxesarechecked


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forexplosivesorothermaterialsthatarenotseeds.Thisglobalseedvaultismeanttosustain
cropdiversityfromacrosstheglobeandisbuilttolastevenifalloftheEarthsglaciersmelted,
asitisbuiltabovesealevel.Withtheseedvaultinplaceitcansurely
helpthesurvivabilityof
cropvarietiesandalsoslowdowncroploss.
Agriculturalbiodiversityisworldwideandhumansareconsideredascaretakersforthe
world.Plants,animals,andmicroorganismsresidewiththehumanpopulation.Tohelpbiological
diversityflourisharoundtheworldandinagricultureitrequiresamoreseriouslookonhowto
preventthelossofcropsaswellastheinsectsandanimalsthathelp.Theuseofpesticidesneeds
tobehandledbetterandshouldberegulated.Climatechangeishereandisaffectingeverything
aroundit.Tohelpcropswithstandthechangesofglobalwarming,farmerswillneedtochange
theirfarmingpractices.Lastly,foodisofanimportancetohumanpopulation,andthemassloss
ofdifferentvarietiesofcropsnotonlyisaproblembutalsofoodsecurity.Toboostbiodiversity
inagriculture,humansneedtotakenoticeonthesechangesaroundthemandseewhatcanbe
donetoworkaroundit.


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WorksCited
Calzadilla,Alvaro,KatrinRehdanz,RichardBetts,PeteFalloon,AndyWiltshire,andRichardS.
J.Tol."ClimateChangeImpactsonGlobalAgriculture."
ClimaticChange
120.12
(2013):35774.Web.24Apr.2016.
climatechange.
Dictionary.comUnabridged
.RandomHouse,Inc.24Apr.2016.
CropDiversity:WhyItMattersCropTrust.
CropTrust
.N.p.,n.d.Web.31May2016.
Farrant,Jill."HowWeCanMakeCropsSurvivewithoutWater."
TED
.Ted,Dec.2015.Web.24
Apr.2016
Fowler,Cary."OneSeedataTime,ProtectingtheFutureofFood."
TED
.Ted,July2009.Web.
24Apr.2016.
Jarvis,DevraI.,ChristinePadoch,andH.D.Cooper.
ManagingBiodiversityinAgricultural
Ecosystems.NewYork:ColumbiaUP,2007.CollegeoftheCanyons.
Web.20Apr.2016.
Mijatovic,Dunja,FrederikVanOudenhoven,PabloEyzaguirre,andTobyHodgkin.
TheRoleof
AgriculturalBiodiversityinStrengtheningResiliencetoClimateChange:Towardsan
AnalyticalFramework.ProQuest
.N.p.,2013.Web.20Apr.2016.
pesticide.
Dictionary.comUnabridged
.RandomHouse,Inc.24Apr.2016.
Salinger,Graham.FiveWaystoGetRidofPestsWithoutUsingChemicals.
Nourishingthe
Planet
.N.p.,n.d.Web.31May2016.
Spivak,Marla."WhyBeesAreDisappearing."
TED
.Ted,June2013.Web.24Apr.2016.
TheAgriculturalEcosystem.
SustainableSlipperyRockRSS
.N.p.,n.d.Web.31May2016.
HowtoProtectYourCropsfromPests:IPM.
UniversityOfMinnesota|Extension
.N.p.,n.d.
Web.31May2016.


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WhatIsAgriculturalBiodiversity?
ConventiononBiologicalDiversity
.N.p.,n.d.Web.31
May2016.