Abstract
In the US, the cultivated area (hectares) and production (tonnes) of crops that require or benefit from insect pollination (directly dependent crops: apples, almonds, blueberries, cucurbits, etc.) increased from 1992, the first year in this study, through 1999 and continued near those levels through 2009; aggregate yield (tonnes/hectare) remained unchanged. The value of directly dependent crops attributed to all insect pollination (2009 USD) decreased from $14.29 billion in 1996, the first year for value data in this study, to $10.69 billion in 2001, but increased thereafter, reaching $15.12 billion by 2009. The values attributed to honey bees and non-Apis pollinators followed similar patterns, reaching $11.68 billion and $3.44 billion, respectively, by 2009. The cultivated area of crops grown from seeds resulting from insect pollination (indirectly dependent crops: legume hays, carrots, onions, etc.) was stable from 1992 through 1999, but has since declined. Production of those crops also declined, albeit not as rapidly as the decline in cultivated area; this asymmetry was due to increases in aggregate yield. The value of indirectly dependent crops attributed to insect pollination declined from $15.45 billion in 1996 to $12.00 billion in 2004, but has since trended upward. The value of indirectly dependent crops attributed to honey bees and non-Apis pollinators, exclusive of alfalfa leafcutter bees, has declined since 1996 to $5.39 billion and $1.15 billion, respectively in 2009. The value of alfalfa hay attributed to alfalfa leafcutter bees ranged between $4.99 and $7.04 billion. Trend analysis demonstrates that US producers have a continued and significant need for insect pollinators and that a diminution in managed or wild pollinator populations could seriously threaten the continued production of insect pollinated crops and crops grown from seeds resulting from insect pollination.
Highlights
Flowering plants (Angiosperms) play critical roles in many natural and agricultural ecosystems, providing food, fiber and shelter for wildlife and humankind alike [1]
The number of hectares of DD crops increased from 26.65 million in 1992 to 34.07 million in 2009, an increase of 27.84% (Fig. 5; Table 5) with most of that increase coming between 1992 and 2004 followed by a slight decline
The reduction in 2007 was due to a transient reduction in hectares in soybeans and, to a lesser extent, peanuts
Summary
Flowering plants (Angiosperms) play critical roles in many natural and agricultural ecosystems, providing food, fiber and shelter for wildlife and humankind alike [1]. Pollination is an essential step in the reproductive process of the world’s nearly 300,000 species of flowering plants because it is usually required for the production of seeds [1,12,13,14,15,16,17]. After landing on a receptive stigma, a pollen grain germinates and a pollen tube develops, growing through the supporting style to the ovary. Genetic material in the pollen grain travels through the pollen tube to the ovary where it unites with an egg, the female gamete, in a process called fertilization. From one to several hundred eggs must be fertilized to ensure a high quality fruit because each egg requires a separate pollen grain for fertilization. Plants with incompletely pollinated flowers have fewer seeds and reduced fitness, and they produce inferior fruit with reduced market value [19,20]
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