Local maladaptation in a foundation tree species: implications for restoration. Part 2; growth

We established a common garden experiment within a 238 ha restoration site owned and managed by the South Australian Water Corporation (SA Water), near the township of Clarendon (-35.0882°S, 138.6236°E). We grew ca. 1500 seedlings sourced from one local and two non-local provenances of Eucalyptus leucoxylon to test whether local provenancing was appropriate. The three provenances spanned an aridity gradient, with the local provenance sourced from the most mesic area and the distant provenance sourced from the most arid. We explored the effect of provenance on four fitness proxies after 15 months, including survival, above-ground height, susceptibility to insect herbivory, and pathogen related stress.

本研究于南澳大利亚水务公司（South Australian Water Corporation，简称SA Water）所有并运营的238公顷生态修复场地内开展同质园试验，该场地位于克拉伦登镇附近，地理坐标为南纬35.0882°、东经138.6236°。我们培育了约1500株实生苗，其种源来自1个本地种源与2个非本地种源，均为亮叶桉（Eucalyptus leucoxylon），以验证本地种源选择策略是否适用。这3个种源沿干旱梯度分布，其中本地种源采自最湿润的区域，最远的种源则采自最干旱的区域。本研究探究了栽植15个月后，种源对4个适合度替代指标的影响，包括存活率、地上株高、昆虫取食易感性以及病原相关胁迫。