Review: Seed sourcing strategies for ecological restoration under climate change (Front. Conserv. Sci.)

Review: Seed sourcing strategies for ecological restoration under climate change

“The local is best” is a mantra in ecological restoration: if you want your project to succeed, you should use local plant material since it’s already adapted to local conditions. However, ecosystems now need to withstand both current and future conditions brought by climate change. As a result, restoration practitioners need new seed-sourcing guidelines to address these challenges. In this review, Vitt, Finch and colleagues provide a detailed overview of the studies about the performance of different provenances under a shared environment; a kind of experimental design that should aid seed source selection. Most studies have been focused on tree and forest species from North America and Europe, although studies with herbaceous species have notably increased during the last decade. Most studies used geographic or climatic distance to categorize different provenances, but around half of the studies did not consider potential genetic effects. The authors emphasize the need to address these biological and geographical biases. Additionally, they offer helpful recommendations for improving seed sourcing in the context of climate change, such as adopting stricter procedures for reporting the seed provenance and using species distribution models to identify new sources. This review thus offers an exciting starting point for better seed-sourcing practices and research. (Summary by Carlos Andrés Ordóñez Parra @caordonezparra). Front. Conserv. Sci. 10.3389/fcosc.2022.938110