The reproductive effects of reduced pollen deposition via exclosures and hand pollination on the cushion plant Silene acaulis

Silene acaulis is an important alpine plant species commonly demonstrated to have positive impacts on other plants and insects. In this experiment, we covered sets of plants (gynodioecious species with hermaphrodite and female flowers) with mesh with hand pollination only to examine the relative importance of pollen load as a potential stressor in alpine ecosystems.