Ecotypes: Seedling Growth
To test this hypothesis, Dr Anderson collected samples of both the acidic loam and the calcareous sand
for a series of glasshouse experiments, which measured seedling growth.
In each of these experiments, all seedlings received similar amounts of light
and water and neither resource was considered to be limiting to growth.
In the first experiment, seedlings from the two populations were grown on each of the two soils. After 6 months, seedlings from the 'acid' population had grown well on the acid soil but poorly on the calcareous soil compared to seedlings from the 'calcareous' population, confirming the field observations. Note that the seedlings from the 'calcareous' population also grew significantly better on the acidic soil than on their native soil type.
Move the mouse over the different elements in the graph for an explanation of the results.