PubMed · 2026-03-25
Rising temperatures are changing the chemical scents flowers produce, potentially making them harder for bees, butterflies, and other pollinators to detect and recognize. This review synthesizes what we know about how warming disrupts these floral scent signals, with particular concern for tropical ecosystems where the risks are greatest.
Warming produces compound- and species-specific changes in floral scent emissions, altering both the types of chemicals released and how much of each is emitted.
Both the biological production of scent compounds and their physical release through the cuticle are temperature-sensitive, meaning heat affects floral signaling at multiple points simultaneously.
Tropical plants face heightened risk because short-lived flowers and specialized pollinator relationships leave little margin for the mismatches that warming-altered scents can cause.