College of Agriculture and Bioscience, Dali University, Dali, 671003, Yunnan, China.
College of Life Sciences, Huaibei Normal University, Huaibei, 235000, Anhui, China.
BMC Ecol. 2020 Sep 29;20(1):53. doi: 10.1186/s12898-020-00322-6.
Pollen limitation occurs widely and has an important effect on flowering plants. The East Himalaya-Hengduan Mountains region is a global biodiversity hotspot. However, to our knowledge, no study has synthetically assessed the degree of pollen limitation in this area. The present study aims to reveal the degree of pollen limitation for the flowering plants growing on East Himalaya-Hengduan Mountains and to test whether the reproductive features or the elevation is closely correlated with the degree of pollen limitation in this area.
We complied data from 76 studies, which included 96 species and 108 independent data records. We found that the flowering plants in this area undergo severe pollen limitation [overall Hedges' d = 2.004, with a 95% confidence interval (1.3264, 2.6743)] that is much higher than that of the flowering plants growing in many other regions around the world. The degree of pollen limitation was tested to determine the correlation with the capacity for autonomous self-reproduction and with the pollination pattern (generalized vs. specialized pollination) of plants. In addition, we found a clear relationship between elevation and the degree of pollen limitation, which indicates that plants might undergo more severe pollen limitation in relatively high places.
This paper is the first to address the severe pollen limitation of the flowering plants growing in East Himalaya-Hengduan Mountains region. Moreover, we reveal the positive correlation between elevation and the degree of pollen limitation.
花粉限制广泛存在，对开花植物有重要影响。东喜马拉雅-横断山脉地区是全球生物多样性热点地区。然而，据我们所知，目前还没有研究综合评估该地区开花植物的花粉限制程度。本研究旨在揭示东喜马拉雅-横断山脉地区生长的开花植物的花粉限制程度，并检验繁殖特征或海拔是否与该地区的花粉限制程度密切相关。
我们整理了 76 项研究的数据，其中包括 96 个物种和 108 个独立的数据记录。我们发现，该地区的开花植物经历了严重的花粉限制[整体 Hedges' d=2.004，95%置信区间（1.3264，2.6743）]，远高于世界上许多其他地区的开花植物。我们还检验了花粉限制程度与植物自主自我繁殖能力以及传粉模式（广义传粉与专门化传粉）之间的相关性。此外，我们发现海拔与花粉限制程度之间存在明显的关系，这表明植物在相对较高的地方可能会经历更严重的花粉限制。
本文首次探讨了东喜马拉雅-横断山脉地区生长的开花植物的严重花粉限制问题。此外，我们揭示了海拔与花粉限制程度之间的正相关关系。
