Background Studies that aim to understand the processes that generate and organize plant diversity in nature have a long history in ecology. Among these, the study of plant–plant interactions that take place indirectly via pollinator choice and floral visitation has been paramount. Current evidence, however, indicates that plants can interact more directly via heterospecific pollen (HP) transfer and that these interactions are ubiquitous and can have strong fitness effects. The intensity of HP interactions can also vary spatially, with important implications for floral evolution and community assembly. Scope Interest in understanding the role of heterospecific pollen transfer in the diversification and organization of plant communities is rapidly rising. The existence of spatial variation in the intensity of species interactions and their role in shaping patterns of diversity is also well recognized. However, after 40 years of research, the importance of spatial variation in HP transfer intensity and effects remains poorly known, and thus we have ignored its potential in shaping patterns of diversity at local and global scales. Here, I develop a conceptual framework and summarize existing evidence for the ecological and evolutionary consequences of spatial variation in HP transfer interactions and outline future directions in this field. Conclusions The drivers of variation in HP transfer discussed here illustrate the high potential for geographic variation in HP intensity and its effects, as well as in the evolutionary responses to HP receipt. So far, the study of pollinator-mediated plant–plant interactions has been almost entirely dominated by studies of pre-pollination interactions even though their outcomes can be influenced by plant–plant interactions that take place on the stigma. It is hence critical that we fully evaluate the consequences and context-dependency of HP transfer interactions in order to gain a more complete understanding of the role that plant–pollinator interactions play in generating and organizing plant biodiversity.

中文翻译：

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通过异种花粉转移的相互作用强度的空间变化可能有助于植物多样性的局部和全局模式

背景研究旨在了解自然界中产生和组织植物多样性的过程，在生态学中有着悠久的历史。其中，通过传粉媒介选择和花卉访问间接发生的植物-植物相互作用的研究至关重要。然而，目前的证据表明，植物可以通过异种花粉 (HP) 转移更直接地相互作用，并且这些相互作用无处不在，并且具有很强的适应度效应。HP 相互作用的强度也可以在空间上变化，对花卉进化和群落组装具有重要意义。范围 了解异种花粉转移在植物群落多样化和组织中的作用的兴趣正在迅速上升。物种相互作用强度的空间变化及其在塑造多样性模式中的作用也得到了广泛认可。然而，经过 40 年的研究，HP 转移强度和影响的空间变化的重要性仍然鲜为人知，因此我们忽略了它在塑造局部和全球尺度多样性模式方面的潜力。在这里，我开发了一个概念框架并总结了 HP 转移相互作用中空间变化的生态和进化后果的现有证据，并概述了该领域的未来方向。结论 这里讨论的 HP 转移变化的驱动因素说明了 HP 强度及其影响以及对 HP 接收的进化反应的地理差异的巨大潜力。至今，传粉媒介介导的植物-植物相互作用的研究几乎完全由授粉前相互作用的研究主导，尽管它们的结果可能受到柱头上发生的植物-植物相互作用的影响。因此，我们必须全面评估 HP 转移相互作用的后果和环境依赖性，以便更全面地了解植物 - 传粉者相互作用在产生和组织植物生物多样性中所起的作用。