[PCA] FW: Climate-Smart Seedlot Selection Tool Launch

Fri Sep 30 14:07:44 CDT 2016

Passing this news on.

Deborah Finch, Program Manager
Grassland, Shrubland and Desert Ecosystems Science
USDA Forest Service
Rocky Mountain Research Station
333 Broadway SE, Suite 115
Albuquerque, NM 87102
Phone: 505-724-3671
Cell: 505-401-0580

Subject: FW: Climate-Smart Seedlot Selection Tool Launch

Greetings All!

I am happy to announce that the new and approved Seedlot Selection Tool (SST) is now online: https://seedlotselectiontool.org/sst/.

The SST is a web-based mapping application designed to help natural resource managers match seedlots with planting sites based on climatic information. The SST can be used to map current climates or future climates based on selected climate change scenarios. It is tailored for matching seedlots and planting sites, but can be used by anyone interested in mapping climates defined by variables related to temperature and water availability. The SST is most valuable as a planning and educational tool because of the uncertainty associated with climate interpolation models and climate change projections. The SST allows the user to control many input parameters, and can be customized for the management practices, available knowledge of adaptation, climate change assumptions, and risk tolerance of the user.

Glenn Howe (OSU) and I will be presenting a webinar on this tool on November 3rd.  It is hosted by our partner, The Conservation Biology Institute.  You may register for the webinar at: http://consbio.org/newsroom/events/webinar-climate-smart-seedlot-selection-tool-seed-sources-reforestation-and-restoration.

Best regards,
Brad

[Forest Service Shield]

Brad St.Clair, PhD
Research Geneticist

Forest Service
Pacific Northwest Research Station
Genetic and Silvicultural Foundations for Management

p: 541-750-7294
f: 541-750-7329
bstclair at fs.fed.us<mailto:bstclair at fs.fed.us>

3200 SW Jefferson Way
Corvallis, OR 97331
www.fs.fed.us/pnw/olympia/silv/<http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/olympia/silv/>
[http://wwwstatic.fs.usda.gov/images/email/usda-logo.png]<http://usda.gov/>[Twitter]<https://twitter.com/usfs_pnwrs>[Facebook]<https://www.facebook.com/pages/US-Forest-Service/1431984283714112?ref=hl>

Caring for the land and serving people

From: Nikolas Stevenson-Molnar [mailto:nik.molnar=consbio.org at mail35.atl71.mcdlv.net] On Behalf Of Nikolas Stevenson-Molnar
Sent: Wednesday, September 28, 2016 5:56 PM
To: StClair, Brad -FS <bstclair at fs.fed.us<mailto:bstclair at fs.fed.us>>
Subject: Climate-Smart Seedlot Selection Tool Launch

Climate-Smart Seedlot Selection Tool Recommendations

View this email in your browser<http://us9.campaign-archive1.com/?u=3dea159e4cbe0a0ff3b43eadd&id=1d64c32356&e=1a8025bd01>

[https://gallery.mailchimp.com/3dea159e4cbe0a0ff3b43eadd/images/86748cef-5b8a-4ae7-b90b-963c07a2f3e5.jpg]

ANNOUNCEMENT
New Web Tool Provides Climate-Smart Seedlot Selection Recommendations

Intuitive tool simplifies choice of seedlots for 21st century reforestation and restoration

The U.S. Forest Service, Oregon State University, and the Conservation Biology Institute have launched a free web-based decision-support tool<http://consbio.us9.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=3dea159e4cbe0a0ff3b43eadd&id=df3a1469c3&e=1a8025bd01> to help natural resource managers match seedlots (seed collections from a known origin) with planting sites based on climatic information.

Populations of trees and other native plants are genetically different from one another and are adapted to different climatic conditions. Therefore, natural resource managers must match the climatic adaptability of their plant materials to the climatic conditions of their planting sites. Typically, this has been done using geographically defined zones (e.g., seed zones or breeding zones) or seed transfer rules that specify a geographic or climatic distance beyond which populations should not be moved. However, current climate models can now be used to define zones based on climate, rather than geography.

[https://gallery.mailchimp.com/3dea159e4cbe0a0ff3b43eadd/images/61c9bcd9-203a-40c1-b18e-6d7214f84d8c.jpg]

Photo credit: Paul D. Anderson, USFS.

The new web-based mapping application, called the Seedlot Selection Tool<http://consbio.us9.list-manage.com/track/click?u=3dea159e4cbe0a0ff3b43eadd&id=ebb67036f5&e=1a8025bd01> (SST), can be used to map either current climates or future climates based on selected climate scenarios. The tool is particularly valuable for considering options for responding to climate change. Because plant populations are generally considered to be locally adapted, climate change will likely lead to declines in health and productivity of native ecosystems. The SST will allow consideration of seedlots that may be adapted to future climates, a management option often referred to as assisted migration or assisted gene flow.

The SST allows users to select a tree species, a transfer limit method (using an established seed zone or creating a customized one), a climate scenario, and a set of relevant climate variables. Then, the SST will display seedlots that are appropriate for planting on a particular site, or sites appropriate for planting seedlings from a particular seedlot.

[https://gallery.mailchimp.com/3dea159e4cbe0a0ff3b43eadd/images/dee85088-ac6f-4ba0-8567-1e5c6f9a1481.png]

Application display: The SST maps potential seedlots for a planting site, while considering potential future climates. Orange areas indicate best suitability for the stated goal given a set of climate constraints.

The application allows the user to control many input parameters so the results can reflect the management practices, available knowledge of adaptation, climate change assumptions, and risk tolerance of the user. Because of the uncertainty in climate projections, this application really is a planning and educational tool. It can be used to explore alternative future conditions, assess risk, and plan potential responses, but cannot tell the user exactly from which seedlot seedlings will be optimally adapted to a particular planting site in the future.

The SST currently covers the western conterminous United States and adjacent Canada and Mexico. The goal is to extend the tool to Alaska and the entire conterminous U.S. Regular updates on progress towards that goal will be posted on the web site and sent to registered users (http://bit.ly/2cj6PqD<http://consbio.us9.list-manage.com/track/click?u=3dea159e4cbe0a0ff3b43eadd&id=6e789f0ba6&e=1a8025bd01>).

Accessing the tool and additional information
More on the tool including detailed instructions are available on the web site: https://seedlotselectiontool.org/sst/<http://consbio.us9.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=3dea159e4cbe0a0ff3b43eadd&id=35f9d28780&e=1a8025bd01>.

The SST is a joint project of the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), Oregon State University (OSU), and the Conservation Biology Institute<http://consbio.us9.list-manage.com/track/click?u=3dea159e4cbe0a0ff3b43eadd&id=0568b87643&e=1a8025bd01>.  Initial conceptualization and development was done by Glenn Howe at Oregon State University and Brad St. Clair at the USFS Pacific Northwest Research Station. Further development, design, and programming were done in collaboration with Dominique Bachelet, Nikolas Stevenson-Molnar, and Brendan Ward at CBI. The application's source code was written by Nik Stevenson-Molnar and is available at https://github.com/consbio/seedsource<http://consbio.us9.list-manage.com/track/click?u=3dea159e4cbe0a0ff3b43eadd&id=69d70e09df&e=1a8025bd01>.

Funding for the SST came from the USFS, OSU, and the USDA Northwest Climate Hub<http://consbio.us9.list-manage.com/track/click?u=3dea159e4cbe0a0ff3b43eadd&id=dd425a4c7a&e=1a8025bd01>.

Our mailing address is:
Conservation Biology Institute
136 SW Washington Avenue, Suite 202
Corvallis, OR 97333

Add us to your address book<http://consbio.us9.list-manage.com/vcard?u=3dea159e4cbe0a0ff3b43eadd&id=f9bdffdf22>

Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences<http://consbio.us9.list-manage.com/profile?u=3dea159e4cbe0a0ff3b43eadd&id=f9bdffdf22&e=1a8025bd01> or unsubscribe from this list<http://consbio.us9.list-manage.com/unsubscribe?u=3dea159e4cbe0a0ff3b43eadd&id=f9bdffdf22&e=1a8025bd01&c=1d64c32356>

This electronic message contains information generated by the USDA solely for the intended recipients. Any unauthorized interception of this message or the use or disclosure of the information it contains may violate the law and subject the violator to civil or criminal penalties. If you believe you have received this message in error, please notify the sender and delete the email immediately.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.plantconservation.org/pipermail/native-plants_lists.plantconservation.org/attachments/20160930/b4604297/attachment.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image001.png
Type: image/png
Size: 7801 bytes
Desc: image001.png
URL: <http://lists.plantconservation.org/pipermail/native-plants_lists.plantconservation.org/attachments/20160930/b4604297/attachment.png>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image002.png
Type: image/png
Size: 1701 bytes
Desc: image002.png
URL: <http://lists.plantconservation.org/pipermail/native-plants_lists.plantconservation.org/attachments/20160930/b4604297/attachment-0001.png>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image003.png
Type: image/png
Size: 1594 bytes
Desc: image003.png
URL: <http://lists.plantconservation.org/pipermail/native-plants_lists.plantconservation.org/attachments/20160930/b4604297/attachment-0002.png>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image004.png
Type: image/png
Size: 1453 bytes
Desc: image004.png
URL: <http://lists.plantconservation.org/pipermail/native-plants_lists.plantconservation.org/attachments/20160930/b4604297/attachment-0003.png>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: Announcement_SST.docx
Type: application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document
Size: 1541932 bytes
Desc: Announcement_SST.docx
URL: <http://lists.plantconservation.org/pipermail/native-plants_lists.plantconservation.org/attachments/20160930/b4604297/attachment.docx>