Restoring pollination is not only about pollinators: Combining ecological and practical information to identify priority plant species for restoration of the Pampa grasslands of Argentina

Abstract

Restoration of plant-pollinator interaction has emerged as a critical issue in the maintenance of resilient and healthy ecosystems. However, some challenges remain, such as integrating ecological and practical information in plant species' choices to restore mutualistic interactions. We present a case-based experience that combines ecological information (i.e., plant attractiveness to pollinators as a ranking of the interaction frequency and the species richness of interacting pollinators) and practical information (i.e., ease-of-restoration) to prioritise species for the restoration of pollination. We explore the importance of a set of 18 native plant species in the Argentinian Pampa grasslands. The selected species, representing 19% of the plant species present in the study system's pollination webs, were visited by 93% of the total insect pollinator species registered, which belonged to the most abundant and diverse entomophile plant families in the region. As could be expected, the plant species prioritised for restoring pollination interactions seemed to depend more on ecological (plant attractiveness to pollinators) than practical (ease-of-restoration) information. However, the practical information identified some critical species that may be difficult to propagate and introduce and are therefore unsuitable despite their ecological importance. This ecological and practical information may help prioritise plant species used to restore an essential but neglected ecosystem. We hope this practical case study will guide the planning of restoration projects for biodiversity conservation, contributing to sustaining the grassland biome’s ecosystem functions.