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Farming for Restoration: Building Bridges for Native Seeds

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Abstract

In both Europe and the United States, a shortage of native plant material frequently precludes successful restoration. Native plant materials are needed to restore ecosystem functioning and services, provide for in situ conservation of biodiversity (e.g., Hobbs and Cramer 2008), maintain genetic diversity (Bischoff et al. 2010), and afford resistance to invasive species. Long-term stewardship goals are to create diverse, resilient systems with the genetic diversity and structure to facilitate adaptation to climate change and other environmental perturbations (e.g., Johnson et al. 2010). Commercial seed mixtures of non-native species and genetically uniform varieties threaten local diversity. Consequently, efforts to develop native seed sources are receiving considerable attention.
... The practices of reparation and restoration are also practices of becoming. Native seeds and plants are crucial for ecosystem restoration, biodiversity conservation, genetic diversity, and stable livelihoods (Tischew et al. 2011). Commercial seed mixtures of non-native species and genetically uniform varieties threaten local diversity (Tischew et al. 2011). ...
... Native seeds and plants are crucial for ecosystem restoration, biodiversity conservation, genetic diversity, and stable livelihoods (Tischew et al. 2011). Commercial seed mixtures of non-native species and genetically uniform varieties threaten local diversity (Tischew et al. 2011). Indigenous communities such as the Adivasis are critical in preserving native varieties and landraces. ...
Article
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This paper is a narrative outcome of our fieldwork experiences with two Adivasi communities (Scheduled Tribes) on the outskirts of Mumbai City in India. Diverse, complex problems like urbanisation, capitalism, and climate change impact the livelihoods of these communities. The wicked nature of these problems perpetuates their social vulnerabilities, agro-biodiversity losses, and livelihood insecurities as they are constantly alienated, dispossessed, and displaced from their local environment and everyday forms of being. Given these circumstances, more than traditional community development approaches may be required locally. Engaging with these communities also implies that we engage with ecologies of knowing-in-being and repair, which, from a posthumanist perspective, guides us to the situated understanding of nature-culture entanglements, their relationalities, and the multiplicities of human-nonhuman associations.
... Entretanto, se os regulamentos não abordarem as complexidades e nuances da cadeia de fornecimento de sementes nativas, o desenvolvimento de esquemas de certificação eficazes e mercados de sementes nativas bem estruturados será dificultado. Por exemplo, a diretiva européia acima mencionada (2010/60/UE) prevê derrogações à legislação pré-existente que regulamenta o mercado para espécies forrageiras e, como tal, trata as sementes nativas de forma semelhante às cultivares e variedades geneticamente melhoradas, limitando assim sua aplicabilidade efetiva às cadeias de fornecimento de sementes nativas (Tischew et al. 2011). ...
Technical Report
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A crescente demanda por sementes nativas em restauração e reabilitação ecológica, seja para mineração, restauração florestal e de ecossistemas, resultou em uma grande indústria global de fornecimento e venda de sementes nativas. Entretanto, não existem documentos internacionais de orientação para garantir que as sementes nativas tenham os mesmos padrões de garantia de qualidade que são prática regular nas indústrias de cultivo e horticultura. Usando os Princípios e Padrões Internacionais para a Prática da Restauração Ecológica como um documento básico, fornecemos pela primeira vez uma síntese das práticas gerais na cadeia de fornecimento de sementes nativas para derivar os Princípios e Padrões para Sementes Nativas na Restauração Ecológica ("Padrões"). Essas práticas e a ciência subjacente fornecem a base para o desenvolvimento de medidas de qualidade e de orientação que são adaptáveis em escala local, bioma ou nacional. É importante notar que estes Padrões definem o que é considerado semente nativa na restauração ecológica e destacam as diferenças entre as sementes nativas versus as sementes geneticamente melhoradas. As abordagens de análise de sementes são fornecidas dentro de uma estrutura lógica que delineia os muitos estados de dormência diferentes em sementes nativas que podem confundir os resultados da restauração. Um formato para um rótulo de produção é incluído como uma ferramenta prática que pode ser personalizada para as necessidades locais e para padronizar os relatórios aos usuários finais sobre o nível de qualidade de sementes e germinabilidade a ser esperado em um lote de sementes nativas. Estes Padrões não pretendem ser obrigatórios; entretanto, as orientações fornecem a base sobre a qual as abordagens regulatórias podem ser desenvolvidas pelas diferentes jurisdições. Palavras-chave: cadeia de fornecimento de sementes nativas, sementes vivas puras, acondicionamento de sementes, proveniência das sementes, qualidade das sementes, armazenamento de sementes
... Native plant materials development strategies (e.g. natural track or multi-source pooling; Aubry et al. 2005;Broadhurst et al. 2008;Bucharova et al. 2019) have received more attention in recent decades as resource managers and conservationists seek to create resilient, productive, and diverse communities that sustain ecological function while providing ecosystem services (Tischew et al. 2011;Plant Conservation Alliance 2015). Although awareness and demand have rapidly increased, supplies of locally adapted, genetically appropriate plant materials have been unable to meet needs (Jalonen et al. 2017;National Academies 2023). ...
Article
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Assessing the appropriateness of existing native plant materials can both determine which seed source to utilize for restoration projects, and identify locations for which new seed sources need to be developed. Here, we demonstrate an approach to meet these needs. This method identifies areas of high restoration need based on disturbance patterns, assesses the regional suitability of existing native plant materials based on climate similarity, and highlights geographic (and climatic) gaps where existing materials are likely unsuitable and where plant material development projects can be prioritized. We examined 12 high priority restoration species across the Colorado Plateau, a 38‐million‐ha region of the Intermountain West, United States to test our methodological pipeline. Fifty‐four percent of the Colorado Plateau is disturbed by livestock grazing, wildfires that have burned in the past 20 years, or energy production from oil and gas wells, natural gas pipelines, and coal mines. Of the 28 commercially available plant materials for six of the focal species, only 3 have climate similarity that encompass more than 50% of the species modeled habitat on the Colorado Plateau. Across all commercial materials, most species (10 of 12) do not have any suitable plant material for 70% or more of their geographic range on the Colorado Plateau. Of those areas identified as not having any suitable plant materials, 47–56% are also disturbed. Our method provides usable, flexible protocols and spatially referenced data sources for optimizing the planning of new native plant materials in any region where restoration is needed and spatial data are available.
... Most of the native restoration species are currently not available in the existing commercial seed supply systems [66] and are therefore traded informally with little or no control on seed quality. Seed certification systems for most native restoration species are non-existent or poorly developed and no seed quality assurance mechanisms are available [58,67]. Certification schemes developed in some jurisdictions have been found to be unreliable as they largely address the requirements of the agricultural sector and not native seed industry [68]. ...
Article
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The world is witnessing massive land degradation caused by climate change and various anthropogenic activities. There has been a significant increase in habitat restoration efforts, with demand for seeds to restore these degraded ecosystems in some cases outstripping supply. Traditionally, seeds for restoration activities have mainly been sourced through collections from the wild, but with the growing seed demand, this is increasingly becoming unsustainable. In order to ensure responsible restoration practice, restoration practitioners need to explore other options of economical, ethical and sustainable sourcing of seeds. Ex situ seed banks can leverage their technical and infrastructural capacity to play a greater and more direct role in supporting biodiversity and ecosystem conservation and restoration, particularly through the supply of quality ecologically and genetically suitable seed. In this paper, we review whether ex situ seed banks possess the capacity and competence for supporting habitat restoration and the challenges they are likely to face in these efforts. The review focuses on seed collecting, field-based seed bulking, seed handling and storage, seed quality control as well as experience and capacity in facilitating germplasm exchange. The availability of high-quality germplasm collections of documented provenance and with broad genetic diversity is arguably the greatest resource and asset that seed banks have in supporting habitat restoration.
... The exclusive use of seeds of regional provenance maintains the integrity of the local gene pool and ensures the development of vegetation stands with typical regional characteristics [36,[57][58][59]. In this way, genetically diverse plant populations can be established at the natural level of genetic differentiation [57]. ...
Article
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Photovoltaics is one of the key technologies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and achieving climate neutrality for Europe by 2050, which has led to the promotion of solar parks. These parks can span up to several hundred hectares, and grassland vegetation is usually created between and under the panels. Establishing species-rich grasslands using native seed mixtures can enhance a variety of ecosystem services, including pollination. We present an overall concept for designing native seed mixtures to promote pollinators, especially wild bees, in solar parks. It takes into account the specific site conditions, the small-scale modified conditions caused by the solar panels, and the requirement to avoid panel shading. We highlight the challenges and constraints resulting from the availability of species on the seed market. Furthermore, we provide an easy-to-use index for determining the value of native seed mixtures for wild bee enhancement and apply it as an example to several mixtures specifically designed for solar parks. The increased availability of regional seed would allow a more thorough consideration of pollinator-relevant traits when composing native seed mixtures, thereby enhancing ecosystem services associated with pollinators such as wild bees.
... It also mandated quality requirements that are not applicable to natives, such as limitations in the number of seeds of Rumex species which are allowed. We note that some species of that genus are weeds in arable agriculture but in grasslands, they are important components of the plant community (Tischew et al., 2011). Following the release of the EU directive in 2010, each member state (even the ones without a native seed market) had to formally adopt the directive by transposing it into a national law. ...
Chapter
A global push to restore degraded terrestrial ecosystems requires an enormous and ever-increasing quantity of native seeds. Unfortunately, in most cases, such precious resources are not available in the quantity, quality and diversity required to support such restoration efforts. Limitations to seed supply have been identified in many countries, and numerous public and private initiatives of varied scope and magnitude have embarked on the journey of addressing the issues currently crippling the native seed supply chain. This chapter presents Case Studies of five prominent native seed supply systems that have developed independently in different parts of the World (Brazil, Western United States, Midwest United States, Europe and Australia) in the hope of providing useful guidance and inspiration for the improvement of existing and emerging native seed markets.
... It also mandated quality requirements that are not applicable to natives, such as limitations in the number of seeds of Rumex species which are allowed. We note that some species of that genus are weeds in arable agriculture but in grasslands, they are important components of the plant community (Tischew et al., 2011). Following the release of the EU directive in 2010, each member state (even the ones without a native seed market) had to formally adopt the directive by transposing it into a national law. ...
Chapter
For successful restoration of wetland and riparian systems, we need to recognise several key points: Wetland systems exist because of, and are governed by hydrology, so hydrological restoration is imperative. Wetlands always have been and need to be temporally and spatially variable, changes in flow and water availability are natural; so restoration of those characters are necessary for successful wetland restoration. Wetlands are closely linked to their surrounding environment as a water and nutrient source; where possible they should be restored in relation to whole landscape restoration. Wetland systems can be resilient and are capable of recovery to a functioning state; the recovery goal, appropriate methods, available resources and subsequent management and monitoring are vital to success.
... Las semillas son la materia prima de los programas de restauración ecológica, ya que son el insumo básico para el reforzamiento o la reintroducción de especies nativas a zonas degradadas y fragmentadas cuando la barrera es la presencia de propágulos. La propagación continua de plantas de sucesiones tempranas y tardías garantiza el suministro de material vegetal necesario para proyectos a largo plazo (Broadhurst et al., 2008;Tischew, Youtie, Kirmer y Shaw, 2011). En el caso de ecosistemas de páramo, las tasas de crecimiento de las plantas son muy bajas (pueden tardar de uno a tres años en alcanzar un tamaño adecuado para ser trasplantadas al campo), por lo que resultan muy importantes los viveros de especies nativas con programas continuos de propagación para poder asegurar el éxito en la implementación de la restauración. ...
... Las semillas son la materia prima de los programas de restauración ecológica, ya que son el insumo básico para el reforzamiento o la reintroducción de especies nativas a zonas degradadas y fragmentadas cuando la barrera es la presencia de propágulos. La propagación continua de plantas de sucesiones tempranas y tardías garantiza el suministro de material vegetal necesario para proyectos a largo plazo (Broadhurst et al., 2008;Tischew, Youtie, Kirmer y Shaw, 2011). En el caso de ecosistemas de páramo, las tasas de crecimiento de las plantas son muy bajas (pueden tardar de uno a tres años en alcanzar un tamaño adecuado para ser trasplantadas al campo), por lo que resultan muy importantes los viveros de especies nativas con programas continuos de propagación para poder asegurar el éxito en la implementación de la restauración. ...
Article
Grasslands are ubiquitous globally, and their conservation and restoration are critical to combat both the biodiversity and climate crises. There is increasing interest in implementing effective multifunctional grassland restoration to restore biodiversity concomitant with above- and belowground carbon sequestration, delivery of carbon credits and/or integration with land dedicated to solar panels. Other common multifunctional restoration considerations include improved forage value, erosion control, water management, pollinator services, and wildlife habitat provisioning. In addition, many grasslands are global biodiversity hotspots. Nonetheless, relative to their impact, and as compared to forests, the importance of preservation, conservation, and restoration of grasslands has been widely overlooked due to their subtle physiognomy and underappreciated contributions to human and planetary well-being. Ultimately, the global success of carbon sequestration will depend on more complete and effective grassland ecosystem restoration. In this review, supported by examples from across the Western world, we call for more strenuous and unified development of best practices for grassland restoration in three areas of concern: initial site conditions and site preparation; implementation of restoration measures and management; and social context and sustainability. For each area, we identify the primary challenges to grassland restoration and highlight case studies with proven results to derive successful and generalizable solutions.
Article
This article summarizes the results of a comprehensive evaluation of frequently implemented compensation measures used to counteract environmental impacts in the course of road construction. Examination of planning documents and compensation areas revealed that 26 of 57 compensation areas had to be excluded from further evaluations either because of insufficient goal setting with regard to habitat functions and/or poor descriptions of the measures, unrecognizable implementation, or because the measures were simply not carried out. In the remaining 31 compensation areas, we examined 119 compensation sites and analyzed their success in relation to 326 defined compensation goals. Only 33% of the goals set were fully or mostly achieved, whereas 67% were reached only partly, mostly not, or not at all. Deficiency inquiries and analyses revealed that (1) in addition to unsuitable site conditions, improper implementation methods as well as deficient follow-up management proved to be of significant influence for goal achievement and (2) a considerable portion of the pitfalls could be avoided by faster integration of state-of-the-art ecological restoration practices. Therefore, we recommend a standardized control procedure, which includes planning, implementation, as well as monitoring of goal achievement and follow-up management for maintenance of target conditions to improve compensation success. This should help to avoid planning and implementation errors, detect flawed development, and correct it in time.