Climate change, land use change and biodiversity loss are combining to drive an increase in agricultural pests and expansion of their ranges with concerning implications for future global food security. In a recent paper published in the journal Nature Reviews Earth & Environment, an international team led by researchers at China’s Hebei University assessed that 2° Celsius (3.6° Fahrenheit) warming over preindustrial levels could lead to increased pest damage and global crop yield losses of 46% for wheat, 19% for rice and 31% for maize. The complex causes for this pest population explosion: Temperature increases are enabling crop pests to move from the subtropics into higher latitudes and to higher ground, while agricultural expansion and biodiversity loss drives down natural pest controls. International trade networks are also exacerbating the introduction of destructive invasive species, with major economic consequences, the researchers write. “Crop pests are increasing in abundance, geographical range and reproductive capacity due to climate warming, land conversion and agricultural intensification,” Daniel Bebber, an ecology professor at the University of Exeter and a study author, told Mongabay. It is estimated that 40% of crops may already be destroyed before harvest due to pests globally, resulting in billions of dollars in losses annually. “Anything that’s going to increase that loss is problematic,” says Sanford Eigenbrode, distinguished professor of entomology, plant pathology and nematology at the University of Idaho, U.S., and a study author. Unpacking the implications of these projected large-scale staple crop losses on global food security and food prices is…This article was originally published on Mongabay