For many of us, pollen is not something we think about until we sneeze from inhaling too much. However, pollen plays an essential role in plant life cycles and as such, there are numerous reasons why it should not be overlooked. Below are some facts that show the value of pollen to both plants and humans alike.
Pollen is important for the following reasons:
- Fertilizing our crops
- Fertilizing wildflowers (which feed insects and animals and provide us with medicine ingredients)
- Helping us understand climate change and how to fix it
- Helping us improve plants and plant breeding
- Providing food for bees
What Is Pollen?
Pollen, a yellow, powdery-sounding substance variable among flowering plants, serves as an avenue of sexual reproduction in these types of plants. However, it will not be meaningful until a varying number of animals (a critical part of the pollination process) acts as a transfer vehicle for the pollen during the process of pollination.
Do All Plants Produce Pollen?
Most plants produce pollen, but not all. Some produce seeds instead.
What Is Pollination?
Pollination starts with a flower’s male parts, the stamens, which make pollen. The pollen rubs off onto pollinators (animals, insects, rain, wind), who then visit the flowers of another plant. When the pollen settles onto that plant’s female parts, the stigmas, it reproduces by making fruit.
Since the pollen came from another plant, this is called cross-pollination (as opposed to the self-pollination described below).
How Pollinators Help With Pollination
Insects eat nectar and sometimes pollen. In doing so, the pollen becomes adherent to their bodies; and when they go to the flower of another plant, it is unwittingly introduced into the stigma, and the plant thus has the means of being fertilized.
Bees, moths, bats, birds, and other creatures carry pollen from flower to flower in their visits to these plants or as they pass them.
In like manner wind and water carry pollen from one plant to another, in the rains the water washing it in many cases from flower to flower; but this action of the wind and water is not so successful in its results as the infection by insects and animals.
What Is Self-Pollination?
A flower can self-pollinate when pollen falls from the stamen to the stigma on the same flower.
But 75% of all flowering plants depend on pollinators for pollination.
Why Is Pollen Important (And Why You Should Care)?
It’s easy to take for granted the wonders of nature, including pollen and pollination. However, pollen provides for different things that we rely on, including our crops, wildflowers, pollinators and more.
Let’s start with our crops.
It Fertilizes Our Crops
Humans have been cultivating crops for food for as long as we’ve been capable. But those crops need pollen to reproduce. So vital is this relationship that many farmers will hire beekeepers to put hives all over their land so that the bees can pollinate their crops.
Here’s a list of some crops requiring pollen:
- Watermelons
- Mustard seed
- Strawberries
- Blueberries
- Almonds
- Avocados
- Cocoa beans
In a study from 2009, crop reduction was estimated at 3%-8% without pollinators. While that amount doesn’t automatically seem that great, any crop reduction acts as a drag on our food resources increases our prices for the limited supply.
While artificial pollination is possible, it’s time-consuming, expensive, and less efficient than natural pollination.
It Fertilizes Wildflowers
You see wildflowers everywhere: when you take a drive, go hiking, or just walking.
While many wildflowers are lovely to look at (and among my favorite parts of nature), they are food for wildlife. Pollinators, namely butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds, for instance, need them, as do rabbits, deer, and snails, for example.
All these animals would suffer the consequences if wildflowers (and flowers in general) did not exist, and, as a consequence, those animals and processes that relied on them. That includes human beings.
The absence of wildflowers would hurt us in another way too: we use their natural ingredients for medicine! The foxglove has something called digitalin (“foxglove” comes from “foxy glove,” named for its gloves): we use it for its heart disease treatment properties.
Pollen Helps Us Understand Climate Change And How To Fix It
Scientists studying pollen grains are able to glean trends of plants over thousands of years. You may ask why this is important. The reason is largely down to climate change.
Plants are really struggling because climate change. They have to compete their behinds off to survive in less than perfect conditions. What’s happening is, we are driving plant species to become less resilient. This has a knock on effect and ripples through the rest of the ecosystem.
On top of this, plants are less productive due to extended drought and so on. Plants that are not thriving do not mean thriving insects and animals that eat them, and the domino effect means ripples of trouble are spread further up the food chain.
And then, if that was not enough, more invasive pests now not only survive the winter, but survive in bigger numbers due to warmer weather. Boom, again.
So climate change is a big deal and countries across the globe are looking at ways to curb it.
One of the ways we can is by studying our plants and how they have changed (with the help of pollen) and whether we are hobbling ourselves into the mess of global warming.
Pollen Helps Us Improve Plants
The study of pollen can also help us figure out whether crops we’re modifying can breed with non-modified plants.
We use several different types of plant breeding system, like backcrossing. A plant with a helpful trait, like resisting pests, is bred with another plant that does not have the trait called (but that has many other helpful traits).
The new plant is then crossed back with its parent (or similar plant) creating plants that are will be even more strong and resistant to pests. We humans get to enjoy its fruits in the crops because there are less plants affected by the pests.
Pollen helps us figure out whether we can carry out the complex and marvelous plant hybridization. Plant hybridization is when plant breeders cross two different genetically different plants.
The result is a hybrid (called polyploid in the science world) to be more beautiful, more fruitful, pest resisting… or whatever else we can think of!
Bees Need Pollen
I’m fascinated by bees and spend a lot of time watching them; I’m even thinking about getting my own hive!
It’s something that started to catch my attention a couple of years ago after learning about bee importance. When I discovered how much of an important part they are to our ecosystems and how smart these creatures are, I just had to learn more.
One thing I’ve learned is just how much bees utilize pollen. A lot of people think they only gather nectar, not pollen.
But this simply isn’t true. They will carry pollen back to the hive and use that to feed their young, as well as substances like royal jelly, honey, and bee bread, made of a mix of pollen, honey and saliva!
A World Without Pollen
It’s hard to imagine what our world would be like without pollen. We would immediately notice that there aren’t as many options for food, because…
I’m not talking about fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds, either. The availability of meat and other animal products would also decline because livestock would not have access to as much food.
As a direct result of this, the economy would take a massive hit. We would have fewer farming jobs, and given that pollination is responsible for up to a staggering 7 USD of revenue every year, we would all definitely feel it.
Earlier I talked about the loss of our native wildflowers. Without pollen and without pollination in our flowers, they would just grow old and die, never getting the chance to make seeds. If this happened on a massive scale, species would go extinct entirely.
What You Can Do To Increase Pollen And Pollination
Many of our pollinator pals, especially bees, are threatened due to habitat loss and fragmentation (dividing up of habitat due to things like buildings and agriculture), climate change and pesticide use.
But taking just one small step (or a lot) toward getting rid of these chemicals can help us turn these losses and their effects around.
Let’s jump into figuring out how together!
Get Rid Of Chemicals
The first is cutting out the chemicals pesticide when caring for your garden and lawn. Doing this creates a safer environment for pollinators (and you), which in turn increases pollination.
Create A Pollinator-Friendly Garden (I Did!)
Another thing you can do is turn part of your garden into a pollinator garden. I have a ‘wild’ area in my yard, with native flowering plants and a water source. All of these are excellent ways to engage pollinators.
Because I’ve got a pollinator garden now, I see a huge increase in visitors to my garden. I’d hardly ever see butterflies for instance, but now they are quite common in my back yard. I take great delight watching the bees get to know me as I sit in the sun.
Raise Awareness
You might also raise awareness for these issues via social media, talking with your friends, and getting involved with local or national groups.
Stay Aware When You’re Out
While hiking and travelling and while just taking in nature, remember why pollen (and pollinators) is important. Even being mindful not to step on or disturb flowers helps.
Final Thoughts On Why Pollen Is Important
We sadly have made it hard for pollinators to accomplish their work. But because of that we can surely help reverse these effects by making ourselves more responsible and accountable. Even just doing only one thing that you had not yet done before will help improve our planet.