How Insect Biodiversity Can Save Our Planet?!

Dear Colleagues,

Insects are vitally important at the structural base of all various ecosystems because of their ecological role in pollinating plants, dispersing seeds, nutrient cycling, sustaining soil health and fertility, pest control, and their great influence on agriculture. Therefore, the loss of insect population and diversity will lead to the destruction of the planet's ecosystem and will be a big threat to other animal populations. Reports of insect declines from different parts of the world are shocking, e.g., a study from Germany's protected areas revealed a 76% decline in flying insects over 27 years (Hallmann et al., 2017). Another study declares that 40% of insect species are in danger of extinction in a few decades (Sánchez-Bayo and Wyckhuys, 2019). This decline should be seriously taken into consideration and sustainable management of insects and targeted conservation efforts should be planned in order to slow down current trends.

The aim of this Special Issue is to cover a wide range of aspects related to insect conservation, biodiversity, and sustainability. In particular, we would like to highlight papers that cover the effects of climate changes on insects’ populations and biodiversity, the importance of biodiversity of insects in any ecosystem, the role of biodiversity in pest management, sustainable solutions for invasive pest management, insect species extinction, and consequence threat on ecosystems, negative effects of insects declines and extension on other species of our planet. All types of contributions (original research, reviews, and meta-analysis) providing new insights within the scope will be considered for publication.

References:

1. Hallmann, C.A., Sorg, M., Jongejans, E., Siepel, H., Hofland, N., Schwan, H., Stenmans, W., Müller, A., Sumser, H., Hörren, T. and Goulson, D., 2017. More than 75 percent decline over 27 years in total flying insect biomass in protected areas. PloS one, 12(10), p.e0185809.
2. Sánchez-Bayo, F. and Wyckhuys, K.A., 2019. Worldwide decline of the entomofauna: A review of its drivers. Biological Conservation, 232, pp.8-27.

Dr. Suzan Mansourian
Guest Editor

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• invasive pest management
• insect ecology
• sustainability
• ecological sustainability
• insect biodiversity
• insect conservation
• insect populations decline
• climate change
• reducing pesticide
• sustainable pest management
• insect–insect interaction