Trade-offs involved in the choice of pot vs field experiments

[Extract] The ability to control and account for environmental conditions is essential when conducting ecological experiments. Two frequent approaches are pot and field experiments. Pot experiments under common garden conditions are excellent for detecting distinct plant responses to specific experimental treatments. Even maternal effects can be accounted for if plants are grown under the same conditions over generations. Pot experiments are exceptional at detecting even slight differences in response to highly controlled factors, but they are not always a meaningful representation of plant responses under more complex and variable natural habitats.