Gardeners who use pesticides (杀虫剂) are contributing to the decreasing population of British songbirds, a study suggests. Researchers have advocated stopping using poisonous chemicals in gardens in order to reduce the loss of birds and adopt wildlife-friendly practices instead. The results of the University of Sussex study, which researchers call the first of its kind, were published in the journal Science of the Total Environment.
The study, which examined information on pesticide use and garden management from 615 garden owners in Britain, found 32 percent of gardens used pesticides, and the number of house sparrows was 25% lower when glyphosate-based herbicides was used regularly. Slug pellets (鼻涕虫杀虫剂) also seemed to have an impact on bird sightings; in gardens where Slug pellets were used, house sparrow numbers were down by almost 40%.
Prof. Dave Goulson, of the school of life sciences at the University of Sussex, said, “The UK has 22 million gardens, which collectively could be a fantastic shelter for wildlife, but not if they are overly tidy and sprayed with poisons. We just don’t need pesticides in our gardens. Many towns around the world are now pesticide free. We should simply ban the use of these poisons in cities, following the example of France.” The Royal Horticultural Society, the UK’s leading gardening charity, said the use of pesticides and herbicides should be avoided if possible and they should only be used, if ever, in small and targeted applications.
The research also found that those who adopted wildlife-friendly practices such as planting native bushes and flowers, or digging a wildlife pond, saw more birds than those who did not. Cannelle Tassin de Montaigu, a PhD researcher within the school of life sciences and an author of the study, said, “It’s encouraging to find that simple measures, such as planting native bushes and trees and creating a pond, together with avoiding the use of pesticides, really make a measurable difference to the number of birds you will see in your garden.”
【小题1】Why are the data mentioned in Paragraph 2?| A．To help gardeners choose the proper pesticides. |
| B．To compare the effects of two kinds of pesticides. |
| C．To reveal the serious influence of pesticides on birds. |
| D．To inform readers of the importance of house sparrows. |
| A．Pesticides should be banned from use all over the UK. |
| B．France has already made city regions pesticide free. |
| C．The ideal places for wildlife in the UK are extremely tidy gardens. |
| D．The gardens in the UK are so tidy that pesticides are not needed. |
| A．Other methods to keep gardens tidy. |
| B．Gardeners’ attitudes towards the experiment. |
| C．Other researchers’ interest in the experiment. |
| D．Additional ways to increase the number of birds. |
| A．Environment. | B．Health. | C．Transport. | D．Economics. |
