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53
2010) and mango production (Braimah and van Emden, 2010).
Insects or insect-borne diseases in biological control, such the
transmission of a pathogenic virus carried by an eriophyid mite
Phyllocoptes fructiphilus
to control the weed Rambler rose (
Rosa
multiflora
) infesting grazing ranges in China, Japan and Korea,
have also proven effective (Smith
et al
., 2010).
Restoration is also crucial in relation to maintaining soil fertil-
ity, restoring degraded soils and reducing compaction (Batey,
2009; Lal, 2009; UNEP, 2009).
It is therefore clear that restoring ecosystem services can involve
quite complex measures. Ecosystem services are therefore es-
sential parts of the benefits in more organic or diversified eco-
agricultural based systems (UNEP, 2009; Sandhu
et al
., 2010).
Total agricultural R&D spending in developing countries in-
creased from USD 3.7 billion (1991) to USD 4.4 billion (2000),
or by 1.6 % annually (IFPRI, 2008). This spending was largely
driven by Asia, where annual spending increased by 3.3 %. In
Africa, agricultural R&D expenditure actually declined slightly,
by 0.4 % a year. As a result, the regions of the world are sharply
divided in terms of their capacity to use science to promote pro-
ductivity growth to achieve food security and reduce poverty
and hunger and in a more sustainable manner including re-
storing pest or weed infested lands.
Invasive alien species are now thought to be the second-gravest
threat to global biodiversity and ecosystems next to habitat de-
struction and degradation (Mooney
et al
., 2000; CBD, 2001; Kenis
et al
., 2009). The steady rise in number of alien species is pre-
dicted to continue under many future global biodiversity scenarios
(Sala
et al
., 2000; Gaston
et al
, 2003; MA, 2005), although envi-
ronmental change may also cause non-alien species to become
invasive. Environmental change, (for example rising atmospheric
CO
2
, increased nitrogen deposition, habitat fragmentation and cli-
mate change) may facilitate further invasions (Macdonald, 1994;
Malcolm
et al
., 2002; Le Maitre
et al
., 2004; Vilà
et al
. 2006; Song
et al
., 2008). As invasive or foreign species compose over 70%
of all weeds in agriculture (estimated in the USA)(Pimentel
et al
.,
2004), a continued growth in invasive species poses amajor threat
to food production (Mack
et al
2000; MA, 2005; Pimentel
et al
.,
2005; Chenje and Katerere, 2006; van Wilgen
et al
, 2007).
Restoration attempts will need to address causes for the spread-
ing, ranging from the marine spilling of ballastwater in shipping
containing numerous exotic and even invasive marine species
(UNEP, 2007) to spreading with land transport, to address-
ing pollution, landuse patterns and socio-economic variables
influencing the initial loss of the ecosystems involved (King
et
al
., 2009). In many cases, re-establishing partial natural cycles,
such as storm-burning reducing invasive species like Melaleuca
viridiflora on grasslands, but leaving fire-adapted vegetation,
could help reduce such invasive pests (Crowley
et al
., 2009). It
is also very well known from agriculture that re-establishment of
ecotones or restoring diverse field edges significantly influenc-
es the survival of natural pest controlling insects, birds, or that
biological control systems (Zhang and Swinton, 2009). This in-
cludes among other introducing insects, pathogens, enzymes or
establishing natural host plants for pest-predators can effectively
reduce infestations such as for example in coffee (Batchelor
et
al
., 2005); tea (Todokoro and Isobe, 2010), banana (Ting
et al
.,