A method of adaptively scheduling communications in a wireless mesh network (14; 270; 390) including a plurality of network nodes (30-50; 305A; 305B, 312-318; 342; 402) in a process plant, the method comprising: generating, by a centralized network manager (27; 302A; 302B; 400), a network routing scheme based on a topology of the wireless mesh network, the centralized network manager included in a gateway device (22; 202; 305A, 305B) communicatively connected to both a plant automation network of the process plant and to the wireless mesh network (14; 270; 390), the gateway device configured to provide applications that are running on the plant automation network with access to the plurality of network nodes of the wireless mesh network, and the plurality of network nodes (30-50; 305A; 305B, 312-318; 342; 402) including a sensor, a valve, and a valve positioner that opens and closes the valve within a process executing in the process plant; generating, by the centralized network manager, a communication schedule for the wireless mesh network, including: defining a communication timeslot of a predefined duration; and defining a plurality of superframes as repeating cycles of different consecutively scheduled numbers of the communication timeslot; automatically updating, by the centralized network manager, the communication schedule in response to detecting a change in a transmission requirement of one of the plurality of network nodes by defining a new superframe as a repeating cycle of a multiplicity of consecutively scheduled communication timeslots, the new superframe made up of a particular consecutively scheduled number of the communication timeslots, the particular consecutively scheduled number being based on the changed transmission requirement of the one of the plurality of network nodes; and updating, by the centralized network manager, the communication schedule using the new superframe to perform communications to or from the one of the plurality of network nodes, wherein the changed transmission requirement corresponds to a change in an update rate of the one of the plurality of network nodes, the change in the update rate of the one of the plurality of network nodes configured by a technician or operator via a workstation included in the plant automation network, and the update rate corresponding to a rate of publishing of process control data generated by the one of the plurality of network nodes and used to control the process in the process plant. generating, by a centralized network manager (27; 302A; 302B; 400), a network routing scheme based on a topology of the wireless mesh network, the centralized network manager included in a gateway device (22; 202; 305A, 305B) communicatively connected to both a plant automation network of the process plant and to the wireless mesh network (14; 270; 390), the gateway device configured to provide applications that are running on the plant automation network with access to the plurality of network nodes of the wireless mesh network, and the plurality of network nodes (30-50; 305A; 305B, 312-318; 342; 402) including a sensor, a valve, and a valve positioner that opens and closes the valve within a process executing in the process plant; generating, by the centralized network manager, a communication schedule for the wireless mesh network, including: defining a communication timeslot of a predefined duration; and defining a plurality of superframes as repeating cycles of different consecutively scheduled numbers of the communication timeslot; defining a communication timeslot of a predefined duration; and defining a plurality of superframes as repeating cycles of different consecutively scheduled numbers of the communication timeslot; automatically updating, by the centralized network manager, the communication schedule in response to detecting a change in a transmission requirement of one of the plurality of network nodes by defining a new superframe as a repeating cycle of a multiplicity of consecutively scheduled communication timeslots, the new superframe made up of a particular consecutively scheduled number of the communication timeslots, the particular consecutively scheduled number being based on the changed transmission requirement of the one of the plurality of network nodes; and updating, by the centralized network manager, the communication schedule using the new superframe to perform communications to or from the one of the plurality of network nodes,