Abstract
Preservation of biodiversity and ecosystem services is critical for sustainable development and human well-being. However, an unprecedented erosion of biodiversity is observed and the use of plant protection products (PPP) has been identified as one of its main causes. In this context, at the request of the French Ministries responsible for the Environment, for Agriculture and for Research, a panel of 46 scientific experts ran a nearly 2-year-long (2020–2022) collective scientific assessment (CSA) of international scientific knowledge relating to the impacts of PPP on biodiversity and ecosystem services. The scope of this CSA covered the terrestrial, atmospheric, freshwater, and marine environments (with the exception of groundwater) in their continuity from the site of PPP application to the ocean, in France and French overseas territories, based on international knowledge produced on or transposable to this type of context (climate, PPP used, biodiversity present, etc.). Here, we provide a brief summary of the CSA’s main conclusions, which were drawn from about 4500 international publications. Our analysis finds that PPP contaminate all environmental matrices, including biota, and cause direct and indirect ecotoxicological effects that unequivocally contribute to the decline of certain biological groups and alter certain ecosystem functions and services. Levers for action to limit PPP-driven pollution and effects on environmental compartments include local measures from plot to landscape scales and regulatory improvements. However, there are still significant gaps in knowledge regarding environmental contamination by PPPs and its effect on biodiversity and ecosystem functions and services. Perspectives and research needs are proposed to address these gaps.
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Acknowledgements
The authors thank (i) the French Ministries for Ecology, for Agriculture and for Research who commissioned this CSA, (ii) the INRAE scientific directorate, in particular Thierry Caquet, for leading the science strategy, (iii) the general directorate of the Ifremer, (iv) Guy Richard, head of the INRAE Directorate for Expertise, Foresight and Advanced Studies (DEPE), (v) the members of the CSA Oversight Committee and the CSA Stakeholder Advisory Committee, (vi) the librarians Anne-Laure Achard (INRAE), Morgane Le Gall (Ifremer) and Sophie Le Perchec (INRAE), who helped produce and mobilize the bibliographic corpuses, (vii) Floriane Larras, Estelle Delebarre and other DEPE staff who contributed to CSA realization and knowledge mobilization, (viii) Jean-Paul Douzals (INRAE) and Nicolas Ris (INRAE) for various contributions at different points in the CSA process, and (ix) Lucile Wargniez and Sacha Desbourdes (INRAE) for their contributions to the artwork.
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This collective scientific assessment received financial support from the French Office for Biodiversity (OFB) through the national ECOPHYTO plan.
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SP, LM, WS, MA, JA, SA, CB1, RB, CB2, AB, PB, CB3, CB4, SB, EBP, SC, AC, BC, MC, MFCC, MAC, OC, ID, JF, CF, NG, PG, VG, MH, AL, FLB, CL, CM1, FML, RM, SM, CM2, DM, SN, CP, MR, SS, SSH, ES, MT, JT, and SL performed the scientific collective assessment based on the analysis of more than 4500 scientific articles. SP, LM, WS, and SL drafted the first version of the manuscript based on this original contribution. SP, LM, WS, MA, JA, SA, CB1, RB, CB2, AB, PB, CB3, CB4, SB, EBP, SC, AC, BC, MC, MFCC, MAC, OC, ID, JF, CF, NG, PG, VG, MH, AL, FLB, CL, CM1, FML, RM, SM, CM2, DM, SN, CP, MR, SS, SSH, ES, MT, JT, and SL contributed to subsequent revisions to the manuscript and approved the final submitted version.
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Pesce, S., Mamy, L., Sanchez, W. et al. Main conclusions and perspectives from the collective scientific assessment of the effects of plant protection products on biodiversity and ecosystem services along the land–sea continuum in France and French overseas territories. Environ Sci Pollut Res (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-26952-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-26952-z