How many flowering plants are pollinated by animals?

TLDR

The majority of flowering plants are pollinated by animals, yet no accurate calculation of the proportion exists; estimates range from 67 % to 96 % and are not based on firm data, making such estimates vital for ecologists and policy makers amid pollinator declines. The study aims to estimate the number and proportion of animal‑pollinated angiosperms and to underscore the need for further research on plant–pollinator dependency across latitudes and community types. The authors used published and unpublished community‑level surveys that recorded pollination mode for each species to estimate the number and proportion of animal‑pollinated flowering plants. The proportion rises from a mean of 78 % in temperate communities to 94 % in tropical ones, and correcting for latitudinal diversity yields a global estimate of 308,006 species, or 87.5 % of angiosperm diversity.

Abstract

It is clear that the majority of flowering plants are pollinated by insects and other animals, with a minority utilising abiotic pollen vectors, mainly wind. However there is no accurate published calculation of the proportion of the ca 352 000 species of angiosperms that interact with pollinators. Widely cited figures range from 67% to 96% but these have not been based on firm data. We estimated the number and proportion of flowering plants that are pollinated by animals using published and unpublished community‐level surveys of plant pollination systems that recorded whether each species present was pollinated by animals or wind. The proportion of animal‐pollinated species rises from a mean of 78% in temperate‐zone communities to 94% in tropical communities. By correcting for the latitudinal diversity trend in flowering plants, we estimate the global number and proportion of animal pollinated angiosperms as 308 006, which is 87.5% of the estimated species‐level diversity of flowering plants. Given current concerns about the decline in pollinators and the possible resulting impacts on both natural communities and agricultural crops, such estimates are vital to both ecologists and policy makers. Further research is required to assess in detail the absolute dependency of these plants on their pollinators, and how this varies with latitude and community type, but there is no doubt that plant–pollinator interactions play a significant role in maintaining the functional integrity of most terrestrial ecosystems.