The key result: suppressing insects with bifenthrin, a synthetic pyrethroid insecticide, suppresses plant diversity.
Unfortunately, with this poison there are knock-on effects to the animal's evolutionary sister group: fungi.
So if 10 years of insecticide is also killing beneficial fungi...
Mike Kaspari
Russell et al. Insect herbivores increase plant species richness in a long‐term grassland experiment besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
Reducing insect herbivores (↓IN) lowered plant species richness in a 12-year experiment in restored tallgrass prairie. This effect developed slowly, first appearing in year 5 and persisting after yea...
