[SOS-PCA] PUBLICATION: Seed supply for broadscale restoration: maximizing evolutionary potential

[Olivia Kwong]

http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/fulltext/121397345/HTMLSTART

See the link for the full text of the article in Evolutionary Applications 
journal.

SYNTHESIS
Seed supply for broadscale restoration: maximizing evolutionary potential

Linda M. Broadhurst, Andrew Lowe, David J. Coates, Saul A. Cunningham, 
Maurice McDonald, Peter A. Vesk and Colin Yates
Correspondence to Linda M. Broadhurst, CSIRO Plant Industry, PO Box 1600, 
Canberra ACT 2601, Australia.

ABSTRACT

Restoring degraded land to combat environmental degradation requires the 
collection of vast quantities of germplasm (seed). Sourcing this material 
raises questions related to provenance selection, seed quality and harvest 
sustainability. Restoration guidelines strongly recommend using local 
sources to maximize local adaptation and prevent outbreeding depression, 
but in highly modified landscapes this restricts collection to small 
remnants where limited, poor quality seed is available, and where 
harvesting impacts may be high. We review three principles guiding the 
sourcing of restoration germplasm: (i) the appropriateness of using 
'local' seed, (ii) sample sizes and population characteristics required to 
capture sufficient genetic diversity to establish self-sustaining 
populations and (iii) the impact of over-harvesting source populations. We 
review these topics by examining current collection guidelines and the 
evidence supporting these, then we consider if the guidelines can be 
improved and the consequences of not doing so. We find that the emphasis 
on local seed sourcing will, in many cases, lead to poor restoration 
outcomes, particularly at broad geographic scales. We suggest that seed 
sourcing should concentrate less on local collection and more on capturing 
high quality and genetically diverse seed to maximize the adaptive 
potential of restoration efforts to current and future environmental 
change.

Received: 7 May 2008 Accepted: 4 August 2008