Abstract: Changes in ploidy occurred early in the diversification of some animal and plant lineages and represent an ongoing phenomenon in others. Estimates for the incidence of polyploidy indicate that ploidy changes may represent 7% of speciation events in ferns. If two species of different chromosome number mate and produce hybrids, they are often sterile due to differences in chromosome number. However, sterility could be restored if they undergo a polyploidy event and therefore allow for regular pairing in meiosis. Hybrid zones are regions where different species meet, mate, and produce offspring of different genotypes. There is a great interest in how hybrid zones arise and how they are stabilized. One possible reason as to why hybrid zones may arise is in response to selection pressures such as environmental gradients. In previous studies, two species of wood ferns, Dryopteris intermedia and Dryopteris campyloptera, have been identified, as well as a triploid intermediate population. A hybrid zone has also been identified where the two species meet based on the potential hybrids containing a mixture a morphological characteristics from both parents and through an analysis of a Hybrid Index Score. By measuring four environmental variables (light intensity, soil moisture, soil temperature, and soil nutrients), a significant difference was found to occur along the transects. This difference in environmental variation was found to correlate with the genetic variation that occurs along the transects as well.