The continued growth of cropland and loss of natural habitat have increasingly simplified agricultural landscapes. This simplification has resulted in increased numbers of crop pests and insecticide use.
“As you remove natural habitats you remove habitat for beneficial predatory insects, and when you create more cropland you make a bigger target for pests — giving them what they need to survive and multiply,” lead author Tim Meehan said.
The landscape simplification has been found to be associated with annual insecticide application to an additional 5,400 square miles in the Midwest.
Read more at University of Wisconsin-Madison