{"id":6565,"date":"2023-05-25T23:55:30","date_gmt":"2023-05-25T20:55:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/?p=6565"},"modified":"2023-05-25T23:59:59","modified_gmt":"2023-05-25T20:59:59","slug":"what-is-pollination","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/news\/what-is-pollination","title":{"rendered":"What is Pollination?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Pollination<\/strong>\u00a0is the act of transferring pollen grains from the male anther of a flower to the female stigma. The goal of every living organism, including plants, is to create offspring for the next generation. One of the ways that plants can produce offspring is by making seeds. Seeds contain the genetic information to produce a new plant.<\/p>\n<p>Flowers are the tools that plants use to make their seeds. The basic parts of the flower are shown in the diagram below.<\/p>\n<p>Seeds can only be produced when pollen is transferred between flowers of the same\u00a0species. A species is defined a population of individuals capable of interbreeding freely with one another but because of geographic, reproductive, or other barriers, they do not interbreed with members of other species.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"font-body-3xs caption caption-img\" role=\"group\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fs.usda.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/2022-12\/parts-of-a-flower.jpg\" alt=\"&quot;An illustrated image showing the different parts of a flower.&quot;\" width=\"493\" height=\"270\" data-entity-type=\"file\" data-entity-uuid=\"f65d9dc9-7f03-46b9-a69b-4e7f7b37640c\" \/><figcaption>Parts of a flower. Image \u00a9 blueringmedia &#8211; stock.adobe.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>How does pollen get from one flower to another? Flowers must rely on vectors to move pollen. These vectors can include wind, water, <a title=\"Grants for Research on Neotropical Birds\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/news\/grants-for-research-on-neotropical-birds\">birds<\/a>, insects, butterflies, bats, and other animals that visit flowers. We call animals or insects that transfer pollen from plant to plant\u00a0<strong>\u201cpollinators\u201d<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Pollination is usually the unintended consequence of an animal\u2019s activity on a flower. The pollinator is often eating or collecting pollen for its protein and other nutritional characteristics or it is sipping nectar from the flower when pollen grains attach themselves to the animal\u2019s body. When the animal visits another flower for the same reason, pollen can fall off onto the flower\u2019s stigma and may result in successful reproduction of the flower.<\/p>\n<p>Referring to the animated image, pollen from the anthers of Flower 1 is deposited on the stigma of Flower 2. 0nce on the stigma, pollen may \u201cgerminate,\u201d which means that a \u201cpollen tube\u201d forms on the sticky surface of the stigma and grows down into the ovule of the plant.<\/p>\n<p>This growth can result in:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Successful fertilization of the flower and the growth of seeds and fruit; or,<\/li>\n<li>A <a title=\"FBE 610 Forest Soils \u2013 Fertility and Plant Nutrition\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/study\/fbe-610-forest-soils-fertility-and-plant-nutrition\">plant can be only partially fertilized<\/a>, in which the fruit and\/or seeds do not fully develop; or,<\/li>\n<li>The plant can completely fail to be pollinated, and may not reproduce at all.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Plants can be:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Self-pollinating<\/strong>\u00a0&#8211; the plant can fertilize itself; or,<\/li>\n<li><strong>Cross-pollinating<\/strong>\u00a0&#8211; the plant needs a vector (a pollinator or the wind) to get the pollen to another flower of the same species.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div>\n<div class=\"block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodelandingtitle\">\n<p><strong>Why is Pollination Important?<br \/>\n<\/strong>Virtually all of the world\u2019s seed plants need to be pollinated. This is just as true for cone-bearing plants, such as pine trees, as for the more colorful and familiar flowering plants. Pollen, looking like insignificant yellow dust, bears a plant\u2019s male sex cells and is a vital link in the reproductive cycle.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodelandingbody\">\n<div class=\"usa-prose full-width\">\n<div class=\"grid-container\">\n<p>With adequate pollination, wildflowers:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Reproduce and produce enough seeds for dispersal and propagation.<\/li>\n<li>Maintain genetic diversity within a population.<\/li>\n<li>Develop adequate fruits to entice seed dispersers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>The Simple Truth: We Can\u2019t Live Without Them!<br \/>\n<\/strong>Pollination is not just fascinating natural history. It is an essential ecological survival function. Without pollinators, the human race and all of Earth\u2019s terrestrial <a title=\"Ecosystems and Conservation\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/ecosystems-and-conservation\">ecosystems<\/a> would not survive. Of the 1,400 crop <a title=\"Tree planting for environmental conservation and nutritional supplement around MkambaraniUzima homeless children centre, Morogoro, Tanzania (2014-2015).\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/research\/tree-planting-for-environmental-conservation-and-nutritional-supplement-around-mkambaraniuzima-homeless-children-centre-morogoro-tanzania-2014-2015\">plants grown around<\/a> the world, i.e., those that produce all of our food and plant-based industrial products, almost 80% require pollination by animals. Visits from bees and other pollinators also result in larger, more flavorful fruits and higher crop yields. In the United States alone, pollination of agricultural crops is valued at 10 billion dollars annually. Globally, pollination services are likely worth more than 3 trillion dollars.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>More than half of the world\u2019s diet of fats and oils come from animal-pollinated plants (oil palm, canola, sunflowers, etc.).<\/li>\n<li>More than 150 food crops in the U.S. depend on pollinators, including almost all fruit and grain crops.<\/li>\n<li>The USDA estimated that crops dependent on pollination are worth more than $10 billion per year.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div>\n<p><strong>Environmental Benefits of Pollination<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Clean Air (Carbon Cycling\/Sequestration)<br \/>\n<\/strong>Flowering plants produce breathable oxygen by utilizing the <a title=\"The story behind a Carbon Credit\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/news\/the-story-behind-a-carbon-credit\">carbon<\/a> dioxide produced by plants and animals as they respire. Levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere have been rapidly increasing in the last century, however, due to increased <a title=\"Forest fires: North America\u2019s boreal forests are burning a lot, but less than 150 years ago\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/news\/forest-fires-north-americas-boreal-forests-are-burning-a-lot-but-less-than-150-years-ago\">burning of fossil fuels and destruction of vital forests<\/a>, the \u201cearth\u2019s lungs.\u201d Pollinators are key to reproduction of wild plants in our fragmented global landscape. Without them, existing populations of plants would decline, even if soil, air, nutrients, and other life-sustaining elements were available.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodelandingbody\">\n<div class=\"usa-prose full-width\">\n<div class=\"grid-container\">\n<div>\n<p><strong>Water and Soils<br \/>\n<\/strong>Flowering plants help to purify <a title=\"Water, Climate, and Biodiversity\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/news\/water-climate-and-biodiversity\">water<\/a> and prevent erosion through roots that holds the soil in place, and foliage that buffers the impact of rain as it falls to the earth. The water cycle depends on plants to return moisture to the atmosphere, and plants depend on pollinators to help them reproduce.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Reference:<\/strong>\u00a0<em>Flowering Plants, Pollinators, and the Health of the Planet<\/em>\u00a0(Marinelli, 2005): Plant. 2005. Janet Marinelli, Editor in Chief. First American Edition. Dorling Kindersley Limited (DK Publishing, Inc.). New York. 512 Pages.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>Cultural Importance of Pollination<br \/>\n<\/strong>Native Peoples traditionally recognized the importance of pollinators:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Cultural symbolism<\/li>\n<li>Food plants<\/li>\n<li>Medicinal plants<\/li>\n<li>Plant-based dyes<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>We explore only a few examples of culturally important pollinators or pollinated plants here. To learn more about culturally important plants and pollinators:<\/p>\n<p><strong>Cultural Symbolism<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure class=\"font-body-3xs caption caption-drupal-media align-right\" role=\"group\">\n<div class=\"width-mobile img-full\">\n<div><strong><picture><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fs.usda.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/scale_240\/public\/2023-04\/julie-thompson-cultural-symbolism.jpg?itok=Ted87BJB\" alt=\"A hummingbird flits among the blossoms of a fireweed, cultural illustration.\" \/><\/picture><\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption>A hummingbird flits among the blossoms of a fireweed. This original design was done in the style of, and greatly influenced by, the delicate form, lines, and art of the Tsimshian and Tlingit peoples of southeast Alaska.\u00a0<em>Photo courtesy of Julie Thompson.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>Butterflies<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Raven\u2019s spokesperson &#8211; Haida (Pacific NW).<\/li>\n<li>Messenger (in dreams) from Great Spirit &#8211; Blackfoot.<\/li>\n<li>Earth\u2019s fertility &#8211; Hopi \u201cBulitikibi\u201d harvest dance.<\/li>\n<li>Flame, Teotihuacan (Palace of the Butterfly) &#8211; Ancient Mexicans (Olmecs, Toltecs, later Aztecs).<\/li>\n<li>Ancestor &#8211; Sumatra, Naga (Madagascar), Pima (N. America).<\/li>\n<li>Related to Morning Star &#8211; Arapaho, Mexecal.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Moths<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u2018Tun tawu = \u201cgoes in and out of fire\u201d &#8211; Cherokee (North America).<\/li>\n<li>Symbol of knowledge, guardians of gold dust of eternity &#8211; Yaqui (Mexico).<\/li>\n<li>Powder &#8211; insanity (moth-crazy, sexual excess, incest, aphrodisiac) &#8211; Navajo (North America).<\/li>\n<li>Guardian of tobacco (caterpillar of Sphinx moth) \u2013 Navajo (North America).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"grid-container\">\n<div class=\"grid-row\">\n<div class=\"tablet:grid-col-4\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tablet:grid-col-6\">\n<p><em>&#8220;Our Future Flies on the Wings of Pollinators&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>This poster is made available by the U.S. <a title=\"Consultancy services on assessment of forest planning and management in different forest types in selected African countries\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/news\/consultancy-services-on-assessment-of-forest-planning-and-management-in-different-forest-types-in-selected-african-countries\">Forest Service<\/a>, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, Natural Resources <a title=\"Emergency Funding for Conservation\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/news\/emergency-funding-for-conservation\">Conservation<\/a> Service, U.S. Botanical Gardens, and the NAPPC (North American Pollinator Protection Campaign).<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodelandingfield-paragraphs\">\n<div class=\"usa-prose full-width\">\n<p><strong><img decoding=\"async\" title=\"Anchor\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP\/\/\/wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==\" alt=\"Anchor\" align=\"\" \/>Plant Pollination Strategies<br \/>\n<\/strong>Pollination\u00a0occurs when\u00a0birds,\u00a0bees,\u00a0bats,\u00a0butterflies,\u00a0moths,\u00a0beetles,\u00a0other animals, water, or the wind carries pollen from flower to flower or it is moved within flowers. The successful transfer of pollen in and between flowers of the same <a title=\"Maryland\u2019s top invasive plant species import harm to natives\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/news\/marylands-top-invasive-plant-species-import-harm-to-natives\">plant species<\/a> leads to fertilization, successful seed development, and fruit production. Other factors such as drought, extreme temperature shifts, or diseases may prevent full fruit and seed production. For more information, also see\u00a0The <a title=\"Funding: Bird Conservation\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/news\/funding-bird-conservation\">Birds<\/a> and the Bees.<\/p>\n<p>Morphological Adaptation<\/p>\n<figure class=\"font-body-3xs caption caption-drupal-media align-right\" role=\"group\">\n<div class=\"width-mobile img-full\">\n<div><strong><picture><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fs.usda.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/scale_240\/public\/2023-04\/erythronium_grandiflorum.jpg?itok=jWdg-r05\" alt=\"Closeup of the Yello Avalance Lily flower.\" \/><\/picture><\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption>Some plants, such as the Yellow Avalance-lily, Erythronium grandiflorum, stagger the timing of pollen release to increase visitation by pollinators and lower the chances of self-pollination. (<em>Photo by Teresa Prendusi, US Forest Service<\/em>).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Flowering plants have co-evolved with their pollinator partners over millions of years producing a fascinating and interesting diversity of floral strategies and pollinator adaptations. The great variety in color, form, and scent we see in flowers is a direct result of the intimate association of flowers with pollinators. The various flower traits associated with different pollinators are known as\u00a0pollination syndromes. Flowering plants have evolved two pollination methods: 1) pollination without the involvement of organisms (abiotic), and 2) pollination mediated by animals (biotic). About 80% of all plant pollination is by animals. The remaining 20% of abiotically pollinated species is 98% by wind and 2% by water.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Wind<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Plants that use wind for cross-pollination generally have flowers that appear early in the spring, before or as the plant&#8217;s leaves are emerging. This prevents the leaves from interfering with the dispersal of the pollen from the anthers and provides for the reception of the pollen on the stigmas of the flowers.<\/p>\n<p>In species like oaks, birch, or cottonwood, male flowers are arranged in long pendant catkins or long upright inflorescences in which the flowers are small, green, and grouped together, and produce very large amounts of pollen. Pollen of wind-pollinated plants is lightweight, smooth, and small.<\/p>\n<p>Plants that are wind pollinated generally occur as large populations so that the female flowers have a better chance of receiving pollen. For more information, see\u00a0Wind and Water Pollination.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Water<br \/>\n<\/strong>The small percentages of plants that are pollinated by water are aquatic plants. These plants release their seeds directly into the water. For more information, see\u00a0Wind and Water Pollination.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Animals<br \/>\n<\/strong>Flowering plants and their animal pollinators have co-evolved where the forces of natural selection on each has resulted in morphological adaptations that have increased their dependency on one another. Plants have evolved many intricate methods for attracting pollinators. These methods include\u00a0visual cues,\u00a0scent,\u00a0food,\u00a0mimicry, and\u00a0entrapment.<\/p>\n<p>Likewise, many pollinators have evolved specialized structures and behaviors to assist in plant pollination such as the fur on the face of the black and white ruffed lemur or a bat. Animal pollinated flowering plants produce pollen that is sticky and barbed to attach to the animal and thus be transferred to the next flower.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Flowering Time<br \/>\n<\/strong>Plants have evolved differing flowering times that occur throughout the growing season to decrease competition for pollinators and to provide pollinators with a constant supply of food. From the first hints of warmth in late winter through spring and summer, until last call in autumn, flowering plants are available to their pollinators providing pollen and nectar in exchange for the pollination service.<\/p>\n<p>in autumn, flowering plants are available to their pollinators providing pollen and nectar in exchange for the pollination service.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Pollination\u00a0is the act of transferring pollen grains from the male anther of a flower to the female stigma. The goal of every living organism, including plants, is to create offspring for the next generation. One of the ways that plants can produce offspring is by making seeds. Seeds contain the genetic information to produce a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6566,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6565","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6565","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6565"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6565\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6576,"href":"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6565\/revisions\/6576"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6566"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6565"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6565"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6565"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}