11/12/2024 (Agence Europe) – Biodiversa+, the European network of national funding bodies for biodiversity research, has published three briefing notes on the important links between biodiversity and maintaining the health of humans, animals and ecosystems. The first explains that biodiversity supports agricultural production through healthy systems, noting in particular that soil microbial diversity protects crops against disease and pests. The second note focuses on the role that biodiversity can play in mitigating health risks, while the third stresses the importance of landscape diversity for both physical and mental health. Forests “with a high diversity of species and a variety of canopy structures effectively absorb air pollution”, Biodiversa+ noted in particular. (FS)