A transcontinental experiment elucidates (mal)adaptation of a cosmopolitan plant to climate in space and time

Climate change and the global spread of non-native species are two of the most significant threats to biodiversity and ecosystem function. Both these phenomena subject populations to novel conditions, either in space (species introductions) or in time (climate change), yet the role of adaptation in how populations respond to these rapid environmental shifts is poorly understood.  We conducted a large-scale trans-continental common garden experiment using white clover (Trifolium repens, Fabaceae) to test whether adaptive evolution to spatiotemporal variation in climate could contribute to the ecological success of one of the most widespread plant species in the world. Individuals from 96 populations of Trifolium repens (white clover) from both its native (Europe) and introduced (North America) ranges were planted into four experimental common gardens located in northern (Uppsala, Sweden) and southern (Montpellier, France) Europe, and northern (Mississauga, Canada) and southern (Lafa..., , Readme file associated with the paper Albano et al., accepted at Ecological Monographs in September 2025. Title: A transcontinental experiment elucidates (mal)adaptation of a cosmopolitan plant to climate in space and time

In this paper, we examine the strength and environmental drivers of local adaptation in Trifolium repens in multiple ranges, along with the ability of T. repens to adapt in the face of environmental change. We use a large-scale trans-continental common garden experiment using 1858 individuals from 96 populations of T. repens transplanted into four experimental gardens, located in the north (Mississauga, ON, Canada) and south (Lafayette, LA, USA) of the introduced North American range, and the north (Uppsala, Sweden) and south (Montpellier, France) of the native European range. This experiment addressed five research questions: (Q1) Are T. repens populations locally adapted to their climate of origin and does the strength of local adaptation differ across space? (Q2) ...,