ROME, June 2 (Xinhua) -- The impacts of plant pests capable of ravaging agriculture systems are becoming more serious due to climate change, said a report published by the Rome-based United Nations (UN) Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on Wednesday.

The comprehensive 88-page report, entitled "Scientific review of the impact of climate change on plant pests", called climate change "an unprecedented challenge to the world's biosphere and to the global community." The report was authored by University of Turin researcher Maria Lodovica and ten co-authors.

According to the FAO, the damage from plant pests poses an "increasing threat to food security and the environment." The FAO estimated that plant diseases causes damage worth more than 220 billion U.S. dollars per year, with invasive insects alone causing at least 70 billion U.S. dollars in damage.

"The key findings of this review should alert all of us on how climate change may affect how infectious, distributed and severe pests can become around the world," FAO Director General Qu Dongyu said in a release sent to reporters on Wednesday.

"The review clearly shows that the impact of climate change is one of the greatest challenges the plant health community is facing," said Qu, who is a former vice minister at the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.

The report said it only takes small changes for invasive insects to gain a foothold in a new ecosystem. It predicted that climate change will increase the risk of pests spreading in agricultural and forestry ecosystems, especially in cooler Arctic, boreal, temperate and subtropical regions.

The report noted that one unusually warm winter can be enough to assist the establishment of invasive pests. Enditem