Environmental Pest Management
Challenges for Agronomists, Ecologists, Economists and Policymakers

A wide-ranging, interdisciplinary exploration of key topics that interrelate pest management, public health and the environment

This book takes a unique, multidimensional approach to addressing the complex issues surrounding pest management activities and their impacts on the environment and human health, and environmental effects on plant protection practices.

It features contributions by a distinguished group of authors from ten countries, representing an array of disciplines. They include plant protection scientists and officers, economists, agronomists, ecologists, environmental and public health scientists and government policymakers. Over the course of eighteen chapters, those experts share their insights into and analyses of an array of issues of vital concern to everyone with a professional interest in this important subject.

The adverse effects of pest control have become a subject of great concern worldwide, and researchers and enlightened policymakers have at last begun to appreciate the impact of environmental factors on our ability to manage pest populations. Moreover, while issues such as pesticide toxicity have dominated the global conversation about pest management, economic and societal considerations have been largely neglected. Environmental Pest Management:Challenges for Agronomists, Ecologists, Economists and Policymakers is the first work to provide in-depth coverage of all of these pressing issues between the covers of one book.

• Offers a unique multi-dimensional perspective on the complex issues surrounding pest management activities and their effect on the environment and human health
• Addresses growing concerns about specific pest management strategies, including the use of transgenic crops and biological controls
• Analyses the influence of global processes, such as climate change, biological invasions and shifts in consumer demand, and ecosystem services and disservices on pest suppression efforts
• Explores public health concerns regarding biodiversity, pesticide use and food safety
• Identifies key economic drivers of pest suppression research, strategies and technologies
• Proposes new regulatory approaches to create sustainable and viable crop protection systems in the framework of agro-environmental schemes

Offering a timely and comprehensively-unique treatment of pest management and its environmental impacts in a single, inter-disciplinary volume, this book is a valuable resource for scientists in an array of disciplines, as well as government officials and policymakers. Also, teachers of undergraduate and graduate level courses in a variety of fields are sure to find it a highly useful teaching resource. 

List of Contributors xi

Preface xv
Moshe Coll and Eric Wajnberg

1 Environmental Pest Management: A Call to Shift from a Pest]Centric to a System]Centric Approach 1
Moshe Coll and Eric Wajnberg

1.1 Introduction 1

1.2 Modern Developments in Pest Control 1

1.3 The Disillusionment with Integrated Pest Management 3

1.4 A Call for Environmental Pest Management 11

Acknowledgements 13

References 13

Part I General Background 19

2 Approaches in Plant Protection: Science, Technology, Environment and Society 21
Deborah K. Letourneau, Margaret I. FitzSimmons and Diego J. Nieto

2.1 Introduction 21

2.2 History of Plant Protection Approaches 22

2.3 Integrated Pest Management: What Does it Take? 31

2.4 Transforming Agriculture Systems for IPM 41

Acknowledgments 43

References 43

3 The Economics of Alternative Pest Management Strategies: Basic Assessment 55
Clement A. Tisdell, David Adamson and Bruce Auld

3.1 Introduction 55

3.2 Economic Decisions at Farm Level Based on Threshold Models Assuming Use of a Given Pest Control Technique and Certainty 56

3.3 Uncertainties and Economic Decisions at Farm Level About Pest Control: Assumes a Given Pest Control Technique and Applies the Threshold Approach 60

3.4 Choice of Alternative Pest Control Techniques at Farm Level Assuming Certainty 64

3.5 The Economics of the Timing of Pest Control and the Optimal Choice of Techniques Given Uncertainty 66

3.6 A Note on Biological Pest Control 70

3.7 Discussion of the Modelling of the Economics of Pest Management at the Farm Level 71

3.8 Concluding

Comments 73

References 73

Part II Impact of Pest Management Practices on the Environment 77

4 Effects of Chemical Control on the Environment 79
Francisco Sanchez]Bayo

4.1 Introduction 79

4.2 Pesticides in Agriculture 79

4.3 Impacts of Pesticides on the Environment 83

4.4 Concluding

Remarks 94

References 95

5 Environmental Impacts of Arthropod Biological Control: An Ecological Perspective 105
David E. Jennings, Jian J. Duan and Peter A. Follett

5.1 Introduction 105

5.2 The‘Invasion’ Process of Establishing Non]native Biocontrol Agents 106

5.3 Ecological Processes Underlying the EnvironmentalImpact of Biocontrol 107

5.4 Ecological Impact Assessment and Cost–benefit Analysis 111

5.5 Case Study I: Biocontrol of Emerald Ash Borer (Agrilus planipennis) 112

5.6 Case Study II: Biocontrol of Tamarisk (Tamarix spp.) 115

5.7 Concluding

Remarks 119

Acknowledgements 120

References 120

6 Effects of Transgenic Crops on the Environment 131
Peter B. Woodbury, Antonio DiTommaso, Janice Thies, Matthew Ryan and John Losey

6.1 Range and Scope of Transgenic Crops 131

6.2 Conceptual Framework 132

6.3 Primary Effects 132

6.4 Secondary Effects 134

6.5 Tertiary Effects: Broader Spatial and Temporal Scales 137

6.6 Quantifying Risks and Benefits of Transgenic Traits 140

6.7 Variation Among Countries in Risk Assessment and Management 143

6.8 Conclusions 143

References 144

Part III Influence of Unmanaged Habitats on Pest Management 151

7 Ecosystem Services Provided by Unmanaged Habitats in Agricultural Landscapes 153
Stefano Colazza, Morgan W. Shields, Ezio Peri and Antonino Cusumano

7.1 Introduction 153

7.2 Global Importance of Arthropod Natural Enemies in Pest Management 155

7.3 Importance of Multitrophic Interactions to Biological Pest Control 156

7.4 Importance of Unmanaged Vegetation for Biological Control 158

7.5 Landscape Use to Maximize Biological Control 163

7.6 Conclusions 164

References 165

8 The Role of Ecosystem Disservices in Pest Management 175
Mark A.K. Gillespie and Steve D. Wratten

8.1 Introduction 175

8.2 EDS and Unmanaged Habitats 178

8.3 Landscape Context and the EDS from Unmanaged Habitats 186

8.4 Managing for EDS from Unmanaged Habitats 188

8.5 Conclusions and Future Research 189

References 190

Part IV Effects of Global Changes on Pest Management 195

9 Effect of Climate Change on Insect Pest Management 197
Nigel R. Andrew and Sarah J. Hill

9.1 Introduction 197

9.2 Observed Climate Changes Influencing Agro]Ecosystems 198

9.3 Insect Responses to Climate Change 198

9.4 Overview of Insect Pests in Agro]Ecosystems and Climate Change 202

9.5 How Climate Change and Insect Responses May Affect Various Ecological Processes Important for Plant Protection 207

9.6 Climate Change and IPM Approaches 210

9.7 Directions for Future Research 214

Acknowledgements 214

References 215

10 Effects of Biological Invasions on Pest Management 225
George K. Roderick and Maria Navajas

10.1 Invasion Science 225

10.2 Invasions – A Natural Process? 233

10.3 Perception and Value of Introduced and Invasive Alien Species 234

10.4 When to Act, and Why? 235

10.5 How Best to Control Invasive Species? 235

10.6 Case Studies 236

10.7 Conclusions 238

Acknowledgements 240

References 240

Part V Pest Control and Public Health 249

11 Pesticides and Human Health 251
Jane A. Hoppin and Catherine E. LePrevost

11.1 Introduction 251

11.2 Human Exposure to Pesticides 251

11.3 Acute Toxicity 254

11.4 Chronic Human Health Effects 257

11.5 Conclusions 265

References 266

12 Human Health Concerns Related to the Consumption of Foods from Genetically Modified Crops 275
Javier Magana]Gómez and Ana Maria Calderón de la Barca

12.1 History of GM Foods and Associated Food Safety Concerns 275

12.2 Status and Commercial Traits Regarding Genetically Modified Organisms 277

12.3 The Bases for Unintended Health Risks 281

12.4 Guidelines and Approaches Used for Risk Assessment of GM Foods 282

12.5 Recent Research on in vivo Evaluation of GM Foods Consumption 283

12.6 Shortcomings and Research Needs in the Risk Assessment of Genetically Modified Foods 286

12.7 Conclusion 290

References 290

Part VI Policies Related to Environmental Pest Management 297

13 Effectiveness of Pesticide Policies: Experiences from Danish Pesticide Regulation 1986–2015 299
Anders Branth Pedersen and Helle Ørsted Nielsen

13.1 Introduction 299

13.2 Denmark – a Pioneer in Pesticide Policies 300

13.3 Effects 306

13.4 Comparing Denmark to the EU and Internationally 315

13.5 Conclusion 319

References 319

14 Impacts of Exotic Biological Control Agents on Non]target Species and Biodiversity: Evidence,Policy and Implications 325
Barbara I.P. Barratt and Clark A.C. Ehlers

14.1 Environmental Safety of Biological Control 325

14.2 Legislation and Regulation of Biological Control 327

14.3 Risk Assessment 329

14.4 Post release Validation of Predicted Outcomes 337

14.5 Implications of Biological Control Regulation Policy: What has it Meant for Biological Control Practice? 339

14.6 The Future for Biological Control Regulation 340

Acknowledgements 341

References 341

15 Pesticides in Food Safety versus Food Security 347
Pieter Spanoghe

15.1 Introduction 347

15.2 Use of Plant Protection Products in Farming Systems 348

15.3 Food Security in a Changing World 353

15.4 Food Safety and Pesticides in a Global Market 356

15.5 Towards Sustainability 362

15.6 Conclusion 364

References 364

16 External Costs of Food Production: Environmental and Human Health Costs of Pest Management 369
Nir Becker

16.1 Introduction: Pesticide Externalities 369

16.2 Background: The Impact of Pesticide Use 370

16.3 The Challenge in Estimating Externalities from Pesticide Use 373

16.4 Externality Estimation Methods 375

16.5 Overview of Existing Studies on Externalities of Pesticides 376

16.6 Integrated Pest Management 378

16.7 The Role of Information 379

16.8 Conclusion 380

References 381

17 The Role of Pest Management in Driving Agri]environment Schemes in Switzerland 385
Felix Herzog, Katja Jacot, Matthias Tschumi and Thomas Walter

17.1 Introduction 385

17.2 Policy Context of the Swiss Agricultural Sector 386

17.3 Ecological Focus Areas for Biodiversity Protection 388

17.4 Ecosystem Service Provision as a New Paradigm 394

17.5 Conclusion 398

References 399

Part VII Concluding Remarks, Take-Home Messages and a Call for Action 405

18 Environmental Pest Management: The Need for Long]term Governmental Commitment 407
Moshe Coll and Eric Wajnberg

18.1 The Prevalence of a Pest]centric, Bottom]up Approach to Pest Control 407

18.2 The Main Messages Presented in this Volume 408

18.3 The Role of Governments in Pest Management 412

18.4 Characteristics of Top]down, Environmental Pest Management 414

Acknowledgements 416

References 416

Index 419

Moshe Coll, PhD, Department of Entomology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, is an applied ecologist with more than a quarter century of experience researching herbivore-plant interactions, predator-prey dynamics in agricultural and natural habitats, and biological and integrated pest control.

Eric Wajnberg, PhD, INRA, Sophia Antipolis, France, is a population biologist specialising in population genetics, behavioural ecology and statistical modelling. An expert in biological pest control, he has studied insect parasitoids for thirty years.