Biodiversity, Functional Ecosystems and Sustainable Food Production

In recent decades, practices like the cultivation of a few high-yielding crop varieties on a large scale, the application of heavy machinery and continued mechanization of agriculture, the removal of natural habitats, and the application of pesticides and synthetics have resulted in the simplification of agro-ecosystems. This has enabled a substantial increase in food production but has at the same time transformed landscapes. Indeed, there is a concern that a decline in biodiversity has af...