UNDER OUR WING

New study explains how humans can protect and manage the avian population to the benefit of farming croplands, Li Yingxue reports.

Humans and wildlife often have to share areas of land. And on croplands, particularly, avian and human lives can intersect to the benefit of both. Yet the beneficial services provided by birds, for example pest control, are less visible than the disservice they do in terms of direct damage to crops. Since farmers mainly care about what they can observe directly, this often leads to birds being wrongly perceived as pests that need eliminating.

In a groundbreaking study that transcends borders and ignites a renewed fascination with the natural world, postdoctoral researcher Huang Cheng from School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, together with his colleagues, has unveiled profound insights into the captivating relationship between birds and humans on croplands that may lead to more harmonious coexistence between the two.

Published in the esteemed peer-reviewed journal PLoS Biology on July 7, a paper lead authored by Huang, titled "Insights into the coexistence of birds and humans in croplands through meta-analyses of bird enclosure studies, crop loss mitigation experiments, and social surveys", has captured the attention of the scientific community worldwide.