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and unpublished community-level surveys of plant pollination systems that recorded whether each species present was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 policymakers.
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.
How many flowering plants are pollinated by animals?
Year: 2011
