The "Common Garden study" is a scientific
method to determine genetic diversity.
Conducted
by planting different populations of the same species in the same
environmental conditions. If the populations are genetically uniform,
the plants will grow out in a uniform manner, with the same height,
flowering dates, leaf widths, and plants looking identical. Variations
between populations are called "ecotypes" and are created
by the plant's interactions with its environment, and those differences
can be seen below for one California native species, Bromus carinatus
from the San Francisco Bay area:

(Left) La Honda woods.. (Center) Marin county
chert.. (Right) Marin serpentine soil.

(Left)Pescadero coastal dwarf, (Center)San
Francisco sand dunes, (Right) Skyline mountains.
WHAT DO THE DIFFERENCES IN THESE POPULATIONS TELL US?
Photos Copyright © 1997 and text Copyright
© 2000 by Craig C. Dremann, The Reveg Edge, Box 361, Redwood
City, CA.
Updated April 28, 2016. Back to Craig Dremann's main Contents page.