[PCA] News Release: Divining provenance: local native or nonlocal native seeds?

[Leah Prescott]

*News Release*




*Rocky Mountain Research Station*
Media Contact: Jennifer Hayes, Public Affairs Specialist
(970) 498-1365 | Jenniferhayes at fs.fed.us <Jennifer.hayes at fs.fed.us>
www.fs.fed.us/rmrs | @usfs_rmrs <http://www.twitter.com/usfs_rmrs>



 *Divining provenance: local native or nonlocal native seeds?*

*A new paper asks important questions surrounding the geographic source of
seeds used in restoration*

*FORT COLLINS*,* Colo., *July 12, 2018 – Over the last decade, decisions
surrounding the provenance, or the geographic origin of a seed source, has
sparked a debate whether or not to use local native or nonlocal native
seed. A new paper turns a traditionally theoretical discussion into
specific priority actions for researchers and practitioners involved in
restoration.

As the demand for seed and the global restoration effort continues to grow,
choosing the provenance of seed remains an early and important part of the
decision-making process for restoration practitioners. Traditionally,
practitioners have sourced seed local to the restoration site, also known
as local provenancing. The idea behind local provenancing is the
expectation to maintain the evolutionary history of plant populations,
minimize maladaptation (traits that are more harmful than helpful), and
limit deleterious genetic effects (increased susceptibility or
predisposition to disease).

The impacts of habitat fragmentation and climate change on plant
populations calls this approach into question, asking the restoration
sector if the “local-is-best” standard could be supplemented with the use
of nonlocal provenancing. Currently, there are two approaches for
supplementing local provenances with nonlocal provenances: attempting to
increase adaptability of plants by increasing genetic diversity of the seed
mix, and considering anticipated future environmental conditions of a
restoration site and recommending predicative and climate-adjusted
provenancing.

A new paper, Priority Actions to Improve Provenance Decision-Making
<https://www.fs.usda.gov/treesearch/pubs/56419>, identifies actions needed
in order to improve provenance decision-making. Priority actions include
embedding provenance trials into restoration projects; developing dynamic,
evidence-based provenance policies; and establishing stronger
research-practitioner collaborations to promote provenance choice and
implement research outcomes for future restoration projects. Understanding
how a changing climate will impact future restoration projects is also an
important consideration when making decisions around provenance.

Francis Kilkenny <https://www.fs.fed.us/rmrs/people/ffkilkenny>, a Research
Biologist at the USDA Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station and
one of the authors of the paper, noted the differences and similarities in
how countries around the world approach restoration and the importance of
understanding restoration from a global perspective.

In the Intermountain West of the U.S., change has been slow, using similar
restoration practices for the last 100 years. Methods are starting to
shift, especially within the last 10 years, but more can be done. “We can
say how this technique works, but we cannot say how other ways work because
we haven’t done it before,” said Kilkenny. “The quality of the experimental
set up *really *matters.”

The paper resulted from a workshop on the topic at the Society for
Ecological Restoration conference in Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil in August 2017.
Restoration ecologists and biologists from around the world attended the
workshop. Bringing together these diverse perspectives informed the paper
and highlighted the importance of incorporating better evidence-based
experiments and policies into restoration projects and studies.

“The purpose of this paper is to present what we *need* to know, asking the
questions, not necessarily giving the answers,” said Kilkenny. “We need to
think about restoration in a comprehensive way.”



*The Rocky Mountain Research Station is one of seven units within the U.S.
Forest Service Research and Development. RMRS maintains 14 field
laboratories throughout a 12-state territory encompassing parts of the
Great Basin, Southwest, Rocky Mountains, and the Great Plains. RMRS also
administers and conducts research on 14 experimental forests, ranges and
watersheds and maintains long-term research databases for these areas.
While anchored in the geography of the West our research is global in
scale. To find out more about the RMRS go to **www.fs.fed.us/rmrs*
<http://www.fs.fed.us/rmrs>*. Follow us on Twitter at *
*www.twitter.com/usfs_rmrs* <http://www.twitter.com/usfs_rmrs>*.*

# # #

USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.

-- 
Leah Prescott
Bureau of Land Management
Plant Conservation & Restoration Program
Data Coordinator
202-912-7232

National Seed Strategy for Rehabilitation and Restoration
<https://www.blm.gov/programs/natural-resources/native-plant-communities/national-seed-strategy>
Plant Conservation Alliance <http://www.plantconservationalliance.org/>
Seeds of Success
<https://www.blm.gov/programs/natural-resources/native-plant-communities/native-plant-and-seed-material-development/collection>
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