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Plants
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Pollination in a Changing World
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Pollination in a Changing World

A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Development and Morphogenesis".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2025) | Viewed by 6295

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Rodrigo Bustos Singer

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Botany Department and Pos-Graduation Program in Botany (PPGBOT-UFRGS), Instituto de Biociências UFRGS, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre 91509-900, RS, Brazil
Interests: germination; breeding systems; pollination; orchids; Cactaceae
Dr. Kit S. Prendergast

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Kent Street, Bentley, Perth, WA, Australia
Interests: biodiversity; conservation; ecology; native bees; pollinators; taxonomy; wild bees
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Plants are globally threatened by a synergy of habitat loss, lack of effective conservation policies, and global warming, as well. Many endemic and useful plants are threatened with extinction and vital information for their conservation and proper management is lacking: do these plants rely on animal pollinators to set fruit? To what extent do they need cross-pollination to set fruit and viable seed? It is important to keep in mind that all the factors mentioned above affecting plant survival will also affect the behavior and persistence of their animal pollinators. Thus, a collective, global effort towards increasing the understanding of the pollination needs and breeding systems of native plants seems imperative. Societies all around the globe would benefit from that knowledge, especially in developing countries that already use or value these plant resources in different ways. This knowledge would pave the way towards the conservation and sustainable use of this valuable biodiversity.

This Special Issue welcomes researchers all around the globe working with native/endemic/threatened plants of biological, economic, and/or ethnobotanical interest for their respective countries/societies.

Dr. Rodrigo Bustos Singer
Dr. Kit S. Prendergast
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Plants is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • angiosperms
  • biodiversity
  • breeding systems
  • cross-pollination, endemism
  • gymnosperms
  • habitat loss
  • management
  • pollinators
  • sustainable use

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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14 pages, 7835 KiB  
Article
Reproductive Biology in the Possible Last Healthy Population of Parodia rechensis (Cactaceae): Perspectives to Avoid Its Extinction
by Rafael Becker, Rosana Farias-Singer, Diego E. Gurvich, Renan Pittella, Fernando H. Calderon-Quispe, Júlia de Moraes Brandalise and Rodrigo Bustos Singer
Plants 2024, 13(20), 2890; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13202890 - 15 Oct 2024
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Abstract
All 32 Brazilian species of Parodia Speg (Cactaceae) occurring in Rio Grande do Sul State are considered threatened, according to the IUCN criteria. Until 2021, Parodia rechensis (CR) was known by only two small populations. However, a new population with over 400 individuals [...] Read more.
All 32 Brazilian species of Parodia Speg (Cactaceae) occurring in Rio Grande do Sul State are considered threatened, according to the IUCN criteria. Until 2021, Parodia rechensis (CR) was known by only two small populations. However, a new population with over 400 individuals was discovered in 2021, prompting the study of its reproductive biology as a way to promote its conservation. Anthesis, breeding system, and natural pollination were studied in the field. The breeding system was studied by applying controlled pollination treatments to plants excluded from pollinators (bagged). Germination features were studied at the Seed Bank of the Porto Alegre Botanical Garden under controlled temperatures (20, 25, and 30 °C). The anthesis is diurnal and lasts for up to four days. The flowers offer pollen as the sole resource to the pollinators. The study species is unable to set fruit and seed without the agency of pollinators and has self-incompatible (unable to set fruit and seeds when pollinated with pollen of the same individual) characteristics that can considerably restrict its reproduction. Native bees of Halictidae and Apidae (Hymenoptera) are the main pollinators, with a smaller contribution of Melyridae (Coleoptera) and Syrphidae (Diptera). Natural fruit set is moderate (≤64%, per individual), but the species presents vegetative growth, producing several branches from the mother plant. Seeds showed the optimum germination rate at 20 °C and an inhibition of 75% in germinability at 30 °C. Our findings suggest the need to manage the species’ habitat to guarantee the permanency of the plants and healthy populations of pollinators as well. Our findings raise concerns about the germination and establishment of new individuals in the context of rising temperatures caused by climate change. Suggestions for the possible management of the extant populations are made. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pollination in a Changing World)
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Review

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32 pages, 9061 KiB  
Review
A Historical Review of the Artificial Pollination of Vanilla planifolia: The Importance of Collaborative Research in a Changing World
by Adam P. Karremans
Plants 2024, 13(22), 3203; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13223203 - 15 Nov 2024
Viewed by 2386
Abstract
The natural fertilization of Vanilla planifolia has long been a matter of speculation. Stingless (tribe Meliponini) and orchid bees (tribe Euglossini) are often cited as effective pollinators, but direct evidence is notoriously lacking. As with other food-deceptive orchids, the natural fruit-set in V. [...] Read more.
The natural fertilization of Vanilla planifolia has long been a matter of speculation. Stingless (tribe Meliponini) and orchid bees (tribe Euglossini) are often cited as effective pollinators, but direct evidence is notoriously lacking. As with other food-deceptive orchids, the natural fruit-set in V. planifolia is low and does not occur spontaneously outside its native range in Middle America. Fruiting has, therefore, necessitated human intervention through artificial pollination. How Vanilla first came to be artificially pollinated is a controversial issue spurring egotism and nationalism. There are numerous texts offering differing versions of the historical events that led to the discovery of the artificial fertilization of V. planifolia and its propagation as a crop. Historical records show Vanilla was simultaneously being pollinated in several parts of the world. I argue that the suspected independent simultaneous discoveries made in Liège, Paris, Padua, the Dutch colony of Java (Indonesia), and the French insular colonies Réunion (Bourbon), Guadeloupe, and Martinique are not unconnected. I conclude that they can be traced back to a single discoverer whose feat was spread around the globe by a tight network of corresponding naturalists. This view contrasts with previous authors. Finally, current concerns regarding Vanilla pollination and production are addressed, highlighting the need for immediate actions to conserve the genetic diversity of the crop’s wild relatives to attenuate the effect of extreme climates in a changing world. A plea is made to shift the focus to Middle America, stimulating and supporting local research and conservation efforts and the allocation of funds from this billion-dollar industry. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pollination in a Changing World)
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