Stability of species and provenance performance when translocated into different community assemblages

The stability of species and provenance performance across diverse environments is a major issue in restoration, particularly for assisted migration and climate‐adjusted provenancing strategies. This study examines how differences in species and provenance performance are affected by plant community composition in a dry sclerophyll forest restoration experiment. Five indices were measured over 6 years post‐establishment to evaluate the relative performance of community composition using 10 provenances of two focal eucalypts (Eucalyptus pauciflora and Eucalyptus tenuiramis) under six community treatments for E. pauciflora and five for E. tenuiramis. Community treatments varied according to the species planted as the immediate neighbor to the focal species, and included same species, same genus, or one of three different genera. Significant species and provenance differences were observed for all measured performance indices, with no evidence of interaction effects with community treatments. E. tenuiramis was more susceptible to insects and frost, and had poorer establishment but greater growth of the survivors than E. pauciflora. Generally, nonlocal provenances were more susceptible to insect herbivory and frost damage and had higher mortality than local provenances. At this early life‐stage there was no evidence that co‐planted species affected the relative performance of focal species or provenances, arguing transfer functions are likely stable across different planted communities. While species and provenance performance was not affected by community context, focal species differed in their response to upslope migration and any climate‐adjusted provenancing may require staged transfers to avoid maladaptation under contemporary growing conditions.