Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
4.6
2.3
Journals
Diversity
Special Issues
Ecology of Plant-Pollinators Interactions
share announcement

Ecology of Plant-Pollinators Interactions

A Special Issue of Diversity (ISSN 1424-2818) belonging to the section "Plant Diversity".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2026) | Viewed by 1844

Editor

Dr. Hui Wang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Horticulture & Forestry Sciences, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
Interests: biodiversity; pollinators; evolution; urban forest; greenspace

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Pollination services provided by pollinators are essential for maintaining plant populations, ecosystem stability and food security. In a rapidly changing world, pollinators are declining globally and regionally, mainly caused by habitat loss and fragmentation, agrochemicals, environmental pollution, pathogens, alien species, climate change and their interactions. The destruction on plant–pollinator mutualisms aggravates biodiversity loss; therefore, understanding and safeguarding plant–pollinator interactions is crucial for ensuring ecological security and human well-being.

This Special Issue provides an opportunity to highlight new research that brings new data and methods about the biodiversity changes in pollinators, plant–pollinator interactions and pollination services, pollinator conservation, pollination systems and evolutionary consequences. We invite manuscripts focusing on taxonomic, ecological, evolutionary and conservation aspects, aiming to advance our knowledge of and the conservation of plant–pollinator interactions, providing theoretical insights for policy makers, practitioners, and the public to formulate effective management strategies and conservation practices.

Dr. Hui Wang
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Diversity is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2100 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • pollinator
  • flowering plant
  • interaction
  • pollen transfer
  • pollination service
  • biodiversity
  • reproduction succcess
  • evolution
  • taxonomy
  • pollination network
  • global changes

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (3 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

18 pages, 2612 KB  
Article
Citizen Science Reveals Broad Plant–Pollinator Interaction Patterns but Diverges from Field-Sampled Network Structure
by Jenelle Lovejoy and Scott Longing
Diversity 2026, 18(9), 534; https://doi.org/10.3390/d18090534 - 1 Sep 2026
Viewed by 179
Abstract
Citizen science has extended the spatial and temporal scope of biodiversity data, yet questions remain regarding how these data can elucidate ecological interaction networks. Plant–pollinator networks are a comprehensive framework for assessing community structure, specialization, and resilience, but they are sensitive to sampling [...] Read more.
Citizen science has extended the spatial and temporal scope of biodiversity data, yet questions remain regarding how these data can elucidate ecological interaction networks. Plant–pollinator networks are a comprehensive framework for assessing community structure, specialization, and resilience, but they are sensitive to sampling methodology and network composition. Here, we analyzed ten years of citizen science observations to characterize plant–pollinator network structure across four major insect orders, including Hymenoptera, Lepidoptera, Diptera, and Coleoptera. Key network metrics, including connectance, nestedness, linkage density, interaction evenness, specialization (H2′), and modularity, were calculated to analyze network structure, including potential biases in the representation of specialist taxa (d′). To compare citizen science with standardized field observations, an Anthophila-only subset of the citizen science dataset was compared at the genus level with a traditionally sampled bee–flower network. Citizen science-based networks captured measurable specialization and connectance across four insect orders, exhibited significant spatial structure, and revealed that retained genera had significantly higher observed specialization than genera excluded by rare-taxon filtering, although the effect size was small. Within the Anthophila-only comparison, citizen science networks consistently exhibited higher linkage density and interaction evenness, whereas differences in connectance, nestedness, specialization, and modularity depended on whether complete, rarefied, or shared-genus networks were evaluated. These results indicate that inferred plant–pollinator network structure differed between sampling regimes and was sensitive to interaction count, taxonomic breadth, network dimensions, and spatial and temporal coverage. Citizen science captured broader spatial and taxonomic variation across a larger, temporally expansive dataset, whereas traditional sampling provided a more standardized snapshot of local bee–flower interaction structure. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecology of Plant-Pollinators Interactions)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

20 pages, 2515 KB  
Article
Comparison of Two Nectar Field Sampling Methods on Three Plant Species from the Family Ranunculaceae
by Katja Malovrh, Blanka Ravnjak, Jože Bavcon and Mitja Križman
Diversity 2026, 18(8), 493; https://doi.org/10.3390/d18080493 - 18 Aug 2026
Viewed by 272
Abstract
Research on floral nectar quantity and composition is increasingly frequent, yet existing studies predominantly focus on plant species with larger flowers that yield abundant nectar. Consequently, standard collection techniques like the microcapillary method are often optimized only for these morphologically larger structures. This [...] Read more.
Research on floral nectar quantity and composition is increasingly frequent, yet existing studies predominantly focus on plant species with larger flowers that yield abundant nectar. Consequently, standard collection techniques like the microcapillary method are often optimized only for these morphologically larger structures. This study evaluated the applicability of the flower-washing method for nectar sampling in smaller, shallow flowers, comparing its efficacy against the well-established microcapillary method. Three native species from the Ranunculaceae family with diverse blooming phenologies and floral structures were selected: Caltha palustris, Anemone nemorosa, and Clematis vitalba. Nectar samples obtained through both sampling methodologies were analyzed using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) to determine individual profiles and concentrations of sugars, phenolic compounds, and amino acids. The microcapillary method demonstrated notable physical limitations, failing to yield any nectar from A. nemorosa, while success rates remained low for the other two species. Conversely, chemical analysis revealed highly significant discrepancies between the two sampling approaches. The flower-washing method proved highly unreliable, as the mandatory excision of floral tissues caused cellular damage, possibly leading to the leakage of intracellular substances and artificial contamination of the collected nectar. These findings indicate that while flower-washing is occasionally utilized for low-volume flowers, it introduces severe methodological artifacts that compromise data accuracy, highlighting the critical need for refined microcapillary approaches in comparative nectar analysis. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecology of Plant-Pollinators Interactions)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

14 pages, 2932 KB  
Article
Weed Management Reduces Wild Bee Diversity in Cherry Orchards of the Moroccan Middle Atlas
by Youssef Bencharki, Denis Michez, Guillaume Ghisbain, Michael Baum and Patrick Lhomme
Diversity 2025, 17(11), 782; https://doi.org/10.3390/d17110782 - 7 Nov 2025
Viewed by 822
Abstract
Pollinators are essential for the productivity of many fruit crops, yet their diversity and abundance can be strongly influenced by local management practices. This study investigates the impact of weed management on the abundance and diversity of wild bee communities in Moroccan cherry [...] Read more.
Pollinators are essential for the productivity of many fruit crops, yet their diversity and abundance can be strongly influenced by local management practices. This study investigates the impact of weed management on the abundance and diversity of wild bee communities in Moroccan cherry orchards (Ain Leuh, Middle Atlas). Using a sampling strategy combining pan traps in the orchard and netting on the cherry flowers and the weeds during the cherry bloom season, we found that weeded orchards had significantly higher bee abundance (i.e., number of specimens), while unweeded orchards supported greater species richness (i.e., number of species). Vegetation structure significantly influences bee activity and the performance of sampling techniques. Yellow pan traps contributed to collecting more individuals in weeded orchards, likely due to enhanced visual contrast in the absence of floral cues. Across all sites, the most observed flower visitors included species from the genera Andrena and Lasioglossum, known as important cherry pollinators. These findings highlight the ecological value of maintaining wildflower resources through reduced weed management intensity and suggest that enhancing floral complexity in orchards can support more diverse and abundant pollinator communities, with potential benefits for crop pollination services. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecology of Plant-Pollinators Interactions)
►▼ Show Figures

Graphical abstract

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-3
Back to TopTop