Local adaptation of Gladiolus carneus to soil nutrient extremes in the Cape Floristic Region

ABSTRACT Premise Within the hyper-diverse Cape Floristic Region (CFR), divergent edaphic niches are hypothesised as an important driver of lineage diversification. However, the evidence for local adaptation on contrasting soils in this region remains limited. Using a reciprocal translocation and common garden approach, we use the polymorphic geophyte Gladiolus carneus to test for local adaptation to soil properties along an elevational gradient. Methods We first quantified the edaphic niche of all ecotypes of G. carneus across its entire range and for three experimental populations used for reciprocal translocations. Next, under common garden conditions, we tested whether the three focal populations had a fitness advantage on their native soils relative to other populations. We then assessed whether those same populations showed evidence of local adaptation. Key results We found that G. carneus ecotypes occupied distinct edaphic niches and that our three experimental populations occurred in nutrient-poor, intermediate-nutrient and nutrient-rich soil conditions. The common garden showed that seedlings native to the nutrient-rich and nutrient-poor sites, experienced a fitness advantage over non-native seedlings. Additionally, we found evidence of local adaptation at all translocation sites. Together, the common garden and reciprocal translocation suggests that edaphic conditions are contributing to local adaptation at the nutrient-rich and nutrient-poor sites. Conclusions We provide the first evidence of local adaptation to edaphic niches in the hyper-diverse Cape Floristic Region. These results suggest that edaphic conditions, along with other abiotic factors, may be important in driving incipient speciation in the CFR.