A new study has found that air pollution is preventing pollinators finding flowers because it degrades the scent.
A research team comprising the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology and the Universities of Birmingham, Reading, Surrey and Southern Queensland, found that ozone substantially changes the size and scent of floral odour plumes given off by flowers, and that it reduced honeybees' ability to recognise odours by up to 90% from just a few metres away.
Professor Christian Pfrang from the University of Birmingham who collaborated on the research said:"Our study provides robust evidence that the changes due to ground-level ozone on floral scent cause pollinators to struggle to carry out their crucial role in the natural environment also with implications for food security."
Dr Ben Langford, an atmospheric scientist at UKCEH who led the study said:"Some 75% of our food crops and nearly 90% of wild flowering plants depend, to some extent, upon animal pollination, particularly by insects. Therefore, understanding what adversely affects pollination, and how, is essential to helping us preserve the critical services that we reply upon for production of food, textiles, biofuels and medicines, for example.
The research showed that towards the centre of plumes, 52% of honeybees recognised an odour at 6 metres, decreasing to 38% at 12 m. At the edge of plumes, which degraded more quickly, 32% of honeybees recognised a flower from 6 m away and just a tenth of the insects from 12 m away.