Simulating ecosystem resilience: Tipping point evasion driven by adaptive plant-pollinator interaction

Global change threatens ecosystem resilience and triggers irreversible critical transitions, especially in ecologically vulnerable coastal wetlands. Previous studies reported that exploited biotic interaction interfered with biophysical feedback processes, forcing ecosystem resilience to become more susceptible to reach a critical threshold. Thresholds of ecosystem resilience, however, lack quantification when involving adaptive mutualistic interaction. Our study integrates biophysical feedback and plant-pollinator interaction into a spatial vegetation model of a saltmarsh ecosystem in the Yellow River Delta, China. Results showed that adaptive plant-pollinator interaction accelerates biophysical feedback, in particular during the early stages of vegetation colonization. Adaptive mutualistic interaction was important in withstanding higher environmental pressures, despite an overall decline in ecosystem resilience under habitat loss and escalating soil salinization. Adaptive plant-pollinator interaction resulted into more effective and sustainable ecosystem restoration. Our study provides a mechanistic explanation for how adaptive plant-pollinator interaction enhances ecosystem resilience, demonstrating that even small-scale vegetation patches can effectively recruit pollinators, thereby supporting cost-effective restoration strategies.