Linking common gardens with landscape genetics: A synergistic approach to guide restoration

Common garden experiments and landscape genetic analyses are frequently applied to identify the genetic basis of local adaptation, yet rarely combined. In isolation, common gardens are potentially biased by phenotypic plasticity, maternal effects, and outplanting. Conversely, genome scans for selection may find spurious associations due to demographic history and non-adaptive spatial genetic structure. Linking potentially adaptive genetic loci and common garden fitness data to corresponding environmental gradients overcomes many sources of bias, particularly for non-model species. Further, this approach enables quantification of the fitness cost of seed transfer through environmental space – information most needed by restoration practitioners.