Can plants survive without animals?

Could a world with no animals whatsoever (not even insects, no humans, etc) still have plant life? These plants do not have to include all the plants in our world, or even any of the same plants. I can think of these problems that would need to be addressed:

• Respiration. Plants in our world consume carbon dioxide and produce oxygen. Eventually, the CO2 will run out, unless the world has some other method of recycling the atmosphere (other plants, maybe?)

• Pollenation. Perhaps plants can exist that piggyback on the world's water cycle for pollenation? Maybe they place their pollen in fresh water and other plants extract the pollen-rich water via capillary action.

• Fertilization. I got nothing (lol). Come to think of it, where would animals get the nutrients they excrete if not from the plants they eat in the first place?

Preferably, the world should be as Earth-like as possible.

posted almost 8 years ago

Devsman‭

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