Timothy
McAulay
Drought response of natural populations of Solidago altissima sampled from a soil moisture gradient in
Global climate models
predict that temperature and moisture regimens will shift across large
geographic areas in the future. Over the
next 20-30 years, it is predicted that eastern MN will have lower soil moisture
availability, conditions more similar to western parts of the state. The extent to which increased aridity poses a threat to
native plant populations depends upon whether these changes exceed the current
tolerance limits of populations.
Currently, we know very little about the tolerance limits of native
populations and even less about how much population fitness will decline as
climate changes. In an effort
to increase our understanding of the impact of climate change on native plant
species, I conducted
two experiments to test local adaptation of populations to water availability:
1) a greenhouse study where nine populations sampled across a
water-availability gradient in MN are subjected to well-watered and drought
conditions, and 2) a field experiment where six populations are reciprocally
transplanted into three sites across the state.