Forest insect pollination ecosystem services and climate change: A review

Abstract

Global warming has been predicted to cause big changes in terrestrial natural ecosystems and processes. Forests, being a part of terrestrial ecosystems, help in the regulation of biogeochemical processes and functions. Insect pollination is one function that is useful to the forest ecosystem as well as to the associated agroecosystems. Climate change is thought to be a principal factor that can influence the activities, distribution, and abundance of insect pollinators dwelling in the forest. Overall, elevated temperature level could affect the insect pollinators present in the forests. The present paper reviews the possible impact of climate change on insect pollination services provided by the forests, highlighting the importance of insect pollinators present in the forest, the dependence of linked agro-ecosystems on the forest, and various indicators of climate change with the species present in the forest. The paper finally concludes with some key recommendations for the conservation of forest insect pollination function with respect to climate change.