Our distributed reciprocal transplant study, called the Adaptation to Climate and Environment experiment (ACE)compares the physiological performance and fitness of red oaks from the southern and northern edges of their climatic range in a suite of common gardens in the eastern US. The study is designed to test adaptive variation within red oak (Quercus rubra), a keystone species in eastern temperate forests.
The ACE experiment with Quercus rubra (northern red oak) is reciprocal transplant designed to adaptation to changing climates. Red oak is a dominant canopy species in New England and a critical component of future forest composition under climate change.
ACE establishes common gardens across a broad climatic gradient (Maine, Massachusetts, New York, Virginia, Arkansas) using known maternal families. The experiment will provide a platform to quantify:
• Genetic variance and heritability of physiological, morphological, and spectral traits,
• Direction and strength of natural selection under contrasting climates,
• Predicted evolutionary response to warming using quantitative genetic models.
Th design enables assessment of phenotypic plasticity and adaptive potential. It directly addresses whether red oak populations possess sufficient genetic variation to adapt in place, and whether seed transfer strategies and assisted geneflow would be beneficial.