Adaptive dispersal in plant-pollinator interaction triggers tipping point evasion in a saltmarsh ecosystem

Global change threatens ecosystem resilience, triggering irreversible critical transitions. Previous studies reported that biophysical feedback and plant-pollinator interactions should be included to obtain a quantitative dynamic critical threshold of ecosystem resilience. Our study integrates biophysical feedback and plant-pollinator interactions into a spatial vegetation model and generates a threshold of a saltmarsh ecosystem in the Yellow River Delta, China. Functional responses of pollinators influence its magnitude, while adaptive biotic interaction accelerates the biophysical feedback. An acceleration enables the ecosystem to evade the tipping point of collapsing and to enhance the tipping point of recovering. This is particularly important at the early stages of colonization. A comparison of this ecosystem with an ecosystem without adaptive dispersal showed that adaptive dispersal was important in withstanding higher environmental pressures, despite an overall decline in ecosystem resilience following noise-type habitat loss and rate-type escalating salinization. Adaptive dispersal therefore resulted in a more effective and sustainable ecosystem restoration. Our study emphasizes the importance of plant-pollinator interactions in strengthening ecosystem resilience against external disturbances. Management that incorporates adaptive plant-pollinator interactions holds promise for enhancing ecosystem resilience.