Abstract
Human activities induce strong environmental changes that affect the
quality of air, water and soil and increase the concentrations of
polluting reactive compounds in the troposphere, such as ozone and
nitrogen oxides. These changes can lead to a loss of biodiversity and
alter plant physiology and plant-pollinator interactions, essential for
pollination services, with potential consequences for agricultural
production. Taking into account possible interactive effects with
landscape quality and pesticide input, we investigated how air pollution
(ozone and nitrogen oxides) and other sources of nitrogen is related to
pollinator visitation rate and their contribution to agricultural
production. We showed that ozone modulates the effect of pesticide
exposure on crop pollinators, increasing the probability of negative
impacts on crop pollination. Our results suggest that air pollution may
have unexpected consequences for food safety and highlight the need for
more sustainable transport and manufacturing policies to help safeguard
biodiversity and related food production