[PCA] WEB: No Place Like Home: Using Seed Zones to Improve Restoration of Native Grasses in the West

[Kwong, Olivia]

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A new *Science Findings* from the PACIFIC NORTHWEST RESEARCH STATION
<http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/> is now available online!



Science Findings 171 – March 2015





 No Place Like Home: Using Seed Zones to Improve Restoration of Native
Grasses in the West <http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/sciencef/scifi171.pdf>



This month’s issue features science by Brad St. Clair and Vicky Erickson



*IN SUMMARY *



Seed zones and seed transfer guidelines describe where plants are most
likely to thrive. Scientists with the Forest Service and Agricultural
Research Service undertook a 9-year project to build empirical seed zones
for bluebunch wheatgrass, a foundational native grass throughout the West.
The research will help the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management
accelerate restoration of native grasses and combat invasive species such
as cheatgrass.



Scientists documented variation in bluebunch populations, looking
particularly at traits important for adaptation to drought and cold. Forest
Service scientists also used high-resolution climate data to develop
generalized provisional seed zones for a host of important native plant
species.



Knowledge of geographic variation in adaptive traits and the development of
seed transfer guidelines can help resource managers select plant material
that may be expected to adapt well to future climates.



These guidelines are critical to efforts to restore native grasses to the
inland Pacific Northwest and Great Basin. Empirical seed zones are helping
to support a recently renewed federal commitment to coordinate efforts to
prioritize conservation of native plants across land management agencies.



*Past issues* of Science Findings are available here:
http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/publications/scifi.shtml
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