Intensive Farming, Biodiversity Loss, and the Decline of Pollination Services in Agricultural Landscapes

Abstract

Agricultural intensification has driven substantial increases in global food production over the past six decades, but it has done so at the cost of biodiversity, particularly the wild and managed pollinators on which roughly three-quarters of leading food crops partially depend. This paper reviews the ecological pathways through which intensive farming practices — habitat simplification, monoculture expansion, agrochemical use, and landscape homogenization — erode pollinator abundance, species richness, and functional diversity. Evidence from landscape ecology and agroecology indicates that pollination services decline non-linearly with increasing land-use intensity, with the steepest losses occurring where semi-natural habitat falls below approximately 20% of the surrounding landscape. The paper synthesizes findings from key global assessments, presents data on crop pollinator dependency and decline drivers, and discusses management approaches — including habitat restoration, diversified farming systems, and reduced agrochemical reliance — that can reconcile productivity with pollinator conservation.