Forest fragmentation poses a serious danger to population diversity in plants and animals by increasing species isolation, thus reducing the population size and genetic diversity. However, little information is available concerning how fragmentation impacts plant diversity. AFLP fingerprinting was used to assess genetic diversity within and between populations of Asarum canadense L. (Canadian Wild Ginger) across 11 different populations in East-Central Indiana. AFLP fingerprints using two primer pairs generated 51 distinct bands with an average of 25.5 bands per primer. Forty-eight low molecular weight distinct polymorphic bands were observed (50-200 bp range). The percentage of polymorphism was low (0-25%) indicating low levels of genetic diversity within each population studied. NTSYSpc Numerical Taxonomy Analysis Software generated aphenogram that revealed high levels of homologies within populations (75-100%), with individuals from the same population typically clustered. The genetic diversity between populations ranged from 10-50%. The populations from Jay, Randolph and Henry Counties clustered together exhibiting -54% homology, while populations from Mien, Madison, and Huntington counties shared approximately 64% homology. The populations from Adams, Blackford, Delaware, and Grant counties shared approximately 66% homology. However, within this last group Blackford and Delaware counties shared 90% homology. There were no apparent effects of the size of the forest fragments on the observed diversity measures. A possible relationship between genetic diversity and spatial distance was observed between populations moving from east to west. Possible reasons for this observation may be due to forest types, age of forests, climatic factors, soil types, and/or anthropogenic activities. Overall, the low level of average diversity within the populations strongly suggests that the individuals inhabiting isolated forests primarily propagate by asexual means.Ball State UniversityMuncie, IN 47306 / Department of Biology