Institute of Occupational, Social and Environmental Medicine, Goethe University, Theodor-Stern-Kai 7, 60590, Frankfurt, Germany.
Environ Res. 2022 Oct;213:113727. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2022.113727. Epub 2022 Jun 19.
The broad-spectrum insecticides in the neonicotinoid group are the most widely used worldwide because of their widely recognized advantages in the mode of action. Therefore, their use is growing on a large scale and, moreover, is often used preventively without considering the ecological impact. Studies demonstrated harmful effects on non-target organisms, which in turn negatively impact biodiversity and thus food production. The dramatic decline of honey bee colonies, for example, could be linked to the use of neonicotinoids. Ecologically sustainable solutions to this conflict must be focused by scientific research. The question arose whether the global research efforts meet these requirements on a global scale. Therefore, this review article aimed to analyze the global research landscape on neonicotinoids under ecological, economic, and temporal aspects. To this end, key players and incentives for investigations in this research field are identified. The increase in publications over time is significant and shows a dynamic citation pattern. It indicates a comparatively high interest in current research, with ecological issues becoming more and more the focus of international research. It has been shown that national publication performance and funding are in line with global market interests, with the most publishing country being China. In addition, the elevated status quo of the scientific infrastructure in high-economy countries and their willingness to support research can be linked to national research output. Lower economies are sparsely involved in published studies. The research performance accumulates with a high North-South divide. Therefore, future research projects must have a sustainable focus and take regional requirements worldwide into account. This requires greater involvement of developing countries as the most economically dependent regions with enormously increasing consumption rates. Solutions must be found to ensure sustainable food production against a backdrop of already declining biodiversity due to the large-scale use of neonicotinoids.
新烟碱类杀虫剂是广谱杀虫剂，因其作用方式被广泛认可，在世界范围内应用最为广泛。因此，其使用规模不断扩大，而且往往在不考虑生态影响的情况下预防性使用。研究表明，这些杀虫剂对非目标生物有有害影响，进而对生物多样性产生负面影响，从而影响粮食生产。例如，蜜蜂种群的急剧减少可能与新烟碱类杀虫剂的使用有关。科学研究必须着眼于解决这一冲突的生态可持续解决方案。由此产生的问题是，全球研究工作是否在全球范围内满足这些要求。因此，本文旨在从生态、经济和时间方面分析新烟碱类杀虫剂的全球研究态势。为此，确定了该研究领域的主要参与者和调查激励因素。随着时间的推移，出版物数量的增加非常显著，并呈现出动态的引用模式。这表明人们对当前研究的兴趣相对较高，生态问题越来越成为国际研究的重点。研究表明，国家的出版表现和资金与全球市场利益一致，出版最多的国家是中国。此外，高收入国家科学基础设施的地位提升以及支持研究的意愿与国家研究成果相关。低收入国家在发表的研究中参与度较低。研究成果的积累存在着明显的南北差距。因此，未来的研究项目必须具有可持续性重点，并考虑全球范围内的区域要求。这需要发展中国家更多地参与进来，因为这些国家是经济上最依赖、消费率增长最快的地区。必须找到解决方案，以确保在生物多样性因新烟碱类杀虫剂的大规模使用而已经下降的背景下，实现可持续的粮食生产。
