Ecotype plots assembled from seed, grown as a plant community with competition

         Distribution of central grasslands in North America and corresponding mean annual precipitation (adapted from Burke). Dots indicate reciprocal garden study sites, west to east, Colby, Hays, Manhattan, Illinois). Colby satellite site to test the limits of tolerance to drought.

Response variables:

Differential establishment and cover,

Photosynthesis, WUE, SPAD

ANPP, species composition

Phenology, Plant Height       

Genetic diversity of the seeding ecotypes                                  

Drought transcriptomes of ecotypes                   across the rainfall gradient and in         response to experimental rainfall (50% reduction)

Reciprocal garden transplant sites. Red=hays ecotype, green=manhattan ecotpe, blue=Illinois ecotype, checkerboard=mixed ecotypes planted together, Note Colby KS satellite site to test the tolerance of all ecotypes in the driest, western most environment. At each site, there are 4 blocks of the above design. Each plot is either 4x4m, or 4x8 meters in area. (Treatments randomized among blocks)

Hays site               Manhattan site          Illinois site

   Source populations for the ecotype project:

       Seeds collected from natural field populations (never restored). Four populations per  ecoregion  were collected. The regions were Hays (western KS), Manhattan (eastern KS) and Illinois (carbondale)