Below-ground competition alters attractiveness of an insect-pollinated plant to pollinators.

Competitive interactions between plants can affect patterns of allocation to reproductive structures through modulation of resource availability. As floral traits involved in plant attractiveness to pollinators can be sensitive to these resources, competition with any neighbouring species may influence the attractiveness of insect-pollinated plants. While pollination research has primarily focused on above-ground interactions, this study aims at investigating if the presence of a competitor plant can modulate neighbouring insect-pollinated plant attractiveness to pollinators and resulting fecundity, especially through below-ground competitive interactions for soil resources.