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Environ. We Int. J. Sci. Tech. 15 (2020) 117-130 Full Paper |
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Impact of Climate Change on Plants and Pollinators Seema Talwar and Nupur Mondal Department of Botany, Shivaji College, Raja Garden, University of Delhi, Delhi, 110007 *Email: seematalwar2014@gmail.com #Email: nupur.mondal2010@gmail.com
Abstract
Climate change is one of the leading problems current century. There is a significant increase in temperature and carbon-di-oxide concentration, which is going to have an adverse impact on many physiological and ecological processes. Interactions among flowering plants and pollinators are ecologically significant and economically precious. Plant-pollinator interactions play a crucial role in the maintenance of stability of a community. Any disruption in this service can create the ecological disturbance. Reduction in the pollinator services can be one of the major reasons leading to the scarcity of many plant species. Deforestation, habitat destruction, pollution, forest fire, invasion of exotic species, increased use of insecticides and climate change are the major factors, responsible for declining the pollinator populations. One of the significant challenges arising from climate change in agriculture sector is the food insecurity because of the scarcity of pollinators. Pollinators are important contributors to world food production and nutritional security. If pollination ceases to happen, the world will be witnessing the increasing risk of malnutrition. Absence of pollinators can adversely affect the yield in many plant species. Limitation of pollinators is identified as one of the major constraints in various crop productions. Global Climate change may directly have an economic impact on the agriculture. Among all the pollinators, honeybees are considered to be the most efficient and important pollinators for many wild and cultivated plant species. A plant response to the climate change alters the floral development, nectar and pollen production, which are directly linked with floral resource availability, foraging activity, as well as the reproductive output of pollinating agents. Therefore, there is an urgent need to execute management and conservation strategies to protect our biodiversity.
Keywords: Plant-pollinator; Phenology; Productivity; Habitat destruction; Elevated temperature; CO2 |
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Volume 15, Number 2 July-December 2020 |
