Forest researchers are calling for a strategic redesign of long-term common garden networks to better reveal how tree species and populations adapt to changing climates. In a perspective article published in Annals of Forest Science, an international team argues that maintaining forest resilience under climate change depends on understanding genetic adaptation and preserving diversity, and that common gardens remain one of the most valuable empirical tools for achieving both goals.
The authors emphasize that such networks are essential for revealing how species and populations perform across life stages and environments.
The core proposal is that common gardens deliver the strongest insights when they are deliberately designed and deployed across diverse sites, including suboptimal ones. According to the key message, when common gardens are strategically designed and deployed across diverse sites, including suboptimal ones, they provide critical empirical insights into the adaptive capacity of forest tree species under future climate conditions.
The article argues that maintaining forest resilience under climate change depends on understanding genetic adaptation and preserving diversity.
As a perspective piece, the article sets out an argument and a research agenda rather than reporting new experimental results. Its key message is that the value of common gardens lies not in any single planting but in coordinated, long-term networks spanning contrasting environments, which together can reveal how the genetic diversity of forest trees translates into resilience under the climates of the future.
Subject of Research: The role of long-term common garden networks in studying genetic adaptation and climate resilience of forest tree species.
Article Title: Rethinking common gardens for forest tree species in the face of climate change
Article References: Westergren, M., Streit, K., van Loo, M., AlÃa, R., González-MartÃnez, S. C., Benito-Garzón, M., Lario Leza, F. J., Climent Maldonado, J. M., Mihai, G., & Myking, T. (2026). Rethinking common gardens for forest tree species in the face of climate change. Annals of Forest Science, 83(1), Article 40. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13595-026-01357-3
Image Credits: AI Generated
DOI: 10.1186/s13595-026-01357-3
Keywords: common gardens, forest trees, climate change, genetic adaptation, forest resilience, provenance trials, biodiversity, Annals of Forest Science, perspective article, adaptive capacity, Rethinking, common
News Source: Sloane Callahan. (October 29, 2026). Rethinking common gardens for forest tree species in the face of climate change. Scienmag.
