Simplification of Cropping Landscape Does Not Drive Insecticide Use in the USA.

Title: Simplification of cropping landscape does not drive insecticide use Authors: Wan-Ru Yang, Mike Grieneisen, Huajun Chen, and Minghua Zhang Abstract: Studies have argued that crop landscape simplification could be driving the increase of insecticide treated acres in 7 Midwestern states. To determine whether the relationship between landscape simplification and the proportion of cropland treated with insecticide in these states is universally applicable, we applied spatial panel model analysis to USDA Agricultural Census data for 1997, 2002, 2007, and 2012 for county-level data for the entire continental USA. The 7 Midwestern states previously analyzed and the remaining 41 states were analyzed separately. Simpson’s diversity index was used as the metric for landscape simplification. . We also examine the effect of temperature, the proportion of all cropland that is corn and average crop market price as the predictor variables. We conclude that expansion of corn production, together with the market value of crop products, and accumulated amount of heat could be key factors driving the increase of acres treated with insecticide. This phenomenon is observed in the entire continental USA, indicating that it was not landscape simplification in general, but specifically the predominance of corn that is likely driving increased insecticide use in the Midwestern states.