Intensive Farming, Pesticides, Fertilizers Killed 550 Million Birds Since 1980

A study reveals that since 1980, pesticides and fertilizers used in intensive farming have killed roughly 550 million birds.

550 Million Birds Gone

According to biologists, the main reason for the decline in bird populations in the UK and across the rest of Europe is the use of pesticides and fertilizers in intensive agriculture.

There are 550 million fewer birds flying over the continent today than there were a generation ago, and their fall has been well-documented. However, it was unknown up until now how significantly different pressures were on bird populations.

An analysis of data gathered by thousands of citizen scientists in 28 nations over nearly four decades by a team of more than 50 academics revealed that extensive agriculture is primarily to blame for the reduction in the continent's bird populations.

They discovered that since 1980, the total number of wild birds on the continent has decreased by more than a quarter, but the loss among species located in farming has increased to more than half.

Swifts, yellow wagtails, and spotted flycatchers are just a few of the birds that depend on invertebrates for food, according to senior conservation scientist Richard Gregory of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. Gregory is one of the study's principal authors.

Intensive Farming and Farmland Species

The study by Gregory and 50 colleagues was recently published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The study looked at how 170 bird species had reacted to four common stressors caused by humans, including intensive farming, changing forest cover, urbanization, and the climate crisis.

According to the report, farmland species saw the sharpest declines, with numbers dropping by 56.8% since the start of the study. Bird populations in cities were down by 27.8%, while those in woodlands fell by 17.7%.

However, intensive farming, which has become more prevalent throughout Europe, was found to be a significant contributor to the decline in all cases, with the wholesale killing of invertebrates as pests causing a "trophic cascade" up the food chain.

Urbanization

The second most significant cause exerting pressure on bird populations was determined to be urbanization, which is likewise growing throughout Europe. Gregory noted that modern architecture also had a part in the loss of what little green space many cities possessed for development.

It was discovered that northern, cold-loving bird species are also under a lot of stress, with populations down 39.7% as temperatures soar across Europe as a consequence of the climate catastrophe. The study found that there were winners and losers as a result of changing temperatures, with the number of southern warm-preferring species declining by just 17.1%.

Change in Temperature

Overall, the researchers found that while temperature change can increase the abundance and distribution of some species, for those, particularly cold-adapted species, already under the influence of other anthropogenic pressures, temperature change represents a double burden directly affecting their annual cycle.

The United Kingdom alongside the devolved governments should make sure that agri-environment programs recognize and reward farmers that use ecologically friendly agricultural techniques such as flower-rich margins and herbal leys, which have been shown to help them produce high-quality food, while supporting gradual reductions in the use of pesticides and fertilizers, according to Alice Groom, the RSPB's head of sustainable land use policy in England, The Guardian reports.

Global Problem

According to the agricultural practices used in each nation, researchers have discovered that the decline of the birds has been distinct. The areas of Western Europe that are most impacted are those with big crop plots and heavy pesticide use. The situation is better in the Eastern nations, though.

Stanislas Rigal, principal author of the study and a researcher at the University of Montpellier, cautions that despite these regional differences, the problem is "global." According to Rigal, the negative impacts of intensive farming, fertilizers, and pesticides are extending across Europe, The Limited Times reports.