Changes in human diet, and rice agriculture as a result of international agricultural policies, are impacting the persistence of Korean treefrogs

Abstract

Species conservation is generally linked to a wide variety of threats, which might sometimes reflect changes in socioeconomic standards and policies. Here, we demonstrated how treefrog conservation is related to diet preferences, rice agriculture, and international rice trade policies. While rice has been a staple food for over 1000s of years in Korea, recent human-related developments and changes in diet, strengthened by national and international agricultural policies, have resulted in a decrease in rice consumption in the nation. As a result, two treefrog species (Dryophytes suweonensis and Dryophytes flaviventris) restricted to rice paddies for breeding are severely declining due to habitat loss, and they are now under threat of extinction. The efforts of the government to boost rice consumption might support the conservation of the species, although the long-term availability of breeding sites is uncertain, and ultimately, some of the agricultural wetlands should become protected and progressively transformed into functional natural wetlands.