Lin Hanyang, Yuan Yongge, Li Junmin, Bennett Joanne M, Ashman Tia-Lynn, Arceo-Gomez Gerardo, Burd Martin, Burkle Laura A, Burns Jean H, Durka Walter, Ellis Allan G, Freitas Leandro, Rodger James G, Vamosi Jana C, Wolowski Marina, Xia Jing, Knight Tiffany M
School of Advanced Study, Taizhou University, Taizhou, China.
Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation & Zhejiang Key Laboratory for Restoration of Damaged Coastal Ecosystems, School of Life Sciences, Taizhou University, Taizhou, China.
Nat Commun. 2025 Jul 1;16(1):5882. doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-61032-5.
Most flowering plant species rely on animal pollinators to reproduce, but insufficient pollen receipt, or pollen limitation, commonly occurs and is mediated by plant traits. Pollen limitation could either exacerbate extinction threat or arise as a consequence of population and range declines in threatened plants, leading to the expectation that pollen limitation should be higher in threatened compared to non-threatened plants. To test this, we perform a meta-analysis on a global dataset of pollen limitation from 2633 pollen supplementation experiments, integrating plant threat status and thirteen reproduction and life history traits. Threatened plant species have 26% higher levels of pollen limitation than non-threatened species. This pattern is moderated by plant traits and geographic location: we find higher levels of pollen limitation for threatened compared to non-threatened species for pollinator-dependent plants and for plants found in Asia and temperate zones. Using path analysis, we find that plant traits, study region, and threat status are causally linked to pollen limitation. We suggest that plant traits such as autofertility, which strongly predict pollen limitation, should be considered in global databases on plant threat. Further, preventing pollen limitation through habitat and pollinator management is a promising path to preventing plant extinction.
大多数开花植物物种依靠动物传粉者进行繁殖，但花粉接收不足或花粉限制普遍存在，且受植物性状介导。花粉限制可能会加剧灭绝威胁，或者作为受威胁植物种群和分布范围下降的结果而出现，这导致人们预期，与未受威胁的植物相比，受威胁植物的花粉限制应该更高。为了验证这一点，我们对来自2633个花粉补充实验的全球花粉限制数据集进行了荟萃分析，整合了植物的威胁状态以及13个繁殖和生活史性状。受威胁的植物物种的花粉限制水平比未受威胁的物种高26%。这种模式受植物性状和地理位置的影响：我们发现，对于依赖传粉者的植物以及在亚洲和温带地区发现的植物，受威胁物种的花粉限制水平高于未受威胁的物种。通过路径分析，我们发现植物性状、研究区域和威胁状态与花粉限制存在因果联系。我们建议，在全球植物威胁数据库中应考虑诸如自花结实性等能强烈预测花粉限制的植物性状。此外，通过栖息地和传粉者管理来防止花粉限制是预防植物灭绝的一条有前景的途径。
