The two populations of Paris quadrifolia L. were studied in isolated habitats in a currently fragmented landscape. Both populations were located in deciduous forests, the first (A) – on fresh mineral and acidic soil, and the second (B) – on wet organogenic, less acidic and more fertile soil. We hypothesized that genetic variation should be higher within population of more fecund plants, and that genetic distance between the two populations that occupy different isolated habitats in a fragmented landscape should be high. Demographic characteristics of populations were studied in the 2000–2005 period. In patches of both populations, 22 permanent plots measuring 1m² each were designated. For molecular testing 41 samples from both populations were selected. The share of generative shoots was higher in the population A than population B (0.35 and 0.20, respectively). However, the fecundity of ramets expressed as the number of seeds in the ripe fruit was lower in A than in the B population (15 versus 21 seeds). The germination ability was significantly higher for the seeds from A than from the B population (79% versus 44%). The survival of the juveniles was high in both populations (54 and 76%). The Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis with the application of five primers permitted identifying 91 loci. The estimation of genetic diversity was based on polymorphic loci, the share of which was average 44%. Nei’s gene diversity (h) was higher in the A than B population (0.28 versus 0.22). The genetic diversity between the populations was not large (GST = 0.14). Clonal diversity was very high, G/N ratio = 1, and cluster analysis showed intermingling between samples from both the populations. There were quite a small genetic distance (D = 0.10), and a rather high level of gene flow (Nm = 1.51) between the populations from currently isolated habitats. The obtained results indicate that the genetic diversity was lower within population of more fecund plants from more productive habitat.
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