Pollinator functional group abundance and floral heterogeneity in an agroecological context affect mating patterns in a self-incompatible wild plant.

Premise: Restoration of seminatural field margins can elevate pollinator activity. However, how they support wild plant gene flow through interactions between pollinators and spatiotemporal gradients in floral resources remains largely unknown.

Methods: Using a farm-scale experiment, we tested how mating outcomes (expected heterozygosity and paternity correlation) of the wild, self-incompatible plant Cyanus segetum transplanted into field margins (sown wildflower or grass-legume strips) were affected by the abundance of different pollinator functional groups (defined by species traits).

Individual flowering phenology shapes plant-pollinator interactions across ecological scales affecting plant reproduction.

The balance of pollination competition and facilitation among co-flowering plants and abiotic resource availability can modify plant species and individual reproduction. Floral resource succession and spatial heterogeneity modulate plant-pollinator interactions across ecological scales (individual plant, local assemblage, and interaction network of agroecological infrastructure across the farm). Intraspecific variation in flowering phenology can modulate the precise level of spatio-temporal heterogeneity in floral resources, pollen donor density, and pollinator interactions that a plant individual is exposed to, thereby affecting reproduction.

Tracking Ideal Varieties and Cropping Techniques for Agroecological Weed Management: A Simulation-Based Study on Pea.

Pea or L. is a key diversification crop, but current varieties are not very competitive against weeds. The objective was to identify, depending on the type of cropping system and weed flora, (1) the key pea parameters that drive crop production, weed control and weed contribution to biodiversity, (2) optimal combinations of pea-parameter values and crop-management techniques to maximize these goals.