Ferretlover wrote:IMO, the crop lands are a plus for many animals at this time. It's the cities, roads, stadiums, shopping malls, etc., that are not only taking up valuable land, but, also the damage they do to the land if/when/after they are removed (compression, contamination, etc).
It is overwhelming to try to consider all that the presence of flora and fauna contribute to humanity. ... sigh...
Unfortunately, croplands are deadly to most species. Pesticides, herbicides and machinery wipe out those that could make a go of it there, leaving little of value for those species higher on the food web. All that nasty chemical sh!t then runs off into waterways, further weakening the health of those inhabitants (amphibians, dependent on both land and aquatic habitat and with highly permeable skins, are rapidly disappearing--called an indicator species, like the canary in the coal mine). Corridors of "native" (used loosely) vegetation along fence lines and riparian areas, where they still exist, are the few pathways for most creatures to migrate to new territory through the deserts we call crop lands. I agree with you that cities, et. al., are poor habitats, but don't fool yourself into thinking the vast swaths of ag land are any better.
We are destined to experience life on this planet with the few opportunistic colonizer species as our only company--those we generally call weeds and pests. Kind of like us!