Register now for the Society for Ecological Restoration’s 2021 Virtual Conference on June 21-24, 2021 with weekly Field Trip Fridays from around the world beginning May 7 and continuing through June 18. Workshops, sessions, and other events will feature topics on all aspects of ecological restoration.
Aspects of the native seed supply chain: needs assessments, sourcing, collecting, production, testing, and use, will be highlighted in field trips, workshops, sessions, and volunteer papers along dedicated discussion periods. Workshops are described below, and are detailed here.
W9: Networks and other strategies for developing regional native seed supply to meet restoration needs
Organizers: Stephanie Frischie, International Network for Seed-based Restoration and Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, Portland, Oregon, USA; Stefan Weber, Ontario Plant Restoration Alliance (OPRA), Hamilton, Ontario, Canada; Nancy Shaw, USDA Forest Service, Boise, Idaho, USA
June 17 at 1pm Eastern Daylight Time (UTC -4.00)
This workshop will present and discuss a variety of native seed programs and initiatives and will provide information, models and support to participants seeking to improve the supply of native seed in their region. The workshop will begin with a lightning round of presentations (7 minutes each) from each of the following. For the remaining 30 minutes of the workshop, we will have guided discussion meant to build support and connections for returning to our home regions of work and continuing to improve the native seed supply.
Panel:
Robert Sissons, Parks Canada, Gatineau, Quebec, Canada
Southern Alberta Native Seed Collaborative
There is a lack of suitable high quality, regionally adapted native seed to restore existing and planned industrial and infrastructure disturbances and restoration projects in southern Alberta. With a focus on grassland communities, our vision is to work together to improve the supply of reliable, high-quality, ecologically appropriate native seed for restoration projects in the region. Partners include Indigenous communities, non-government organizations, and municipal, provincial and federal land managers. These all operate under the umbrella of the Grasslands Restoration Forum – an organization that promotes the conservation and restoration of native grasslands in Alberta through education, outreach, and research to improve reclamation practice and foster stewardship.
Eduardo Malta Campos Filho, Instituto Socioambiental, São Paulo, Brazil
XIngu Native Seed Network
The Xingu Seed Network formed in 2007 and includes 30 organizations and 450 seed collector groups in 19 municipalities of the Xingu River watershed in the Brazilian Amazon. The Network is a partnership between indigenous communities, settler farmers, landowners, local governments, and NGOs and aims to meet the demand for native seeds for ecological restoration. The demand for native seeds is driven by requirements under Brazilian laws. The Xingu Seed Network supports a vision of compatible development and conservation through collective and participatory regional planning.
Jojanneke Bijkerk, ENSPA President, Groningen, Netherlands
European Native Seed Producers Association (ENSPA)
The mission of ENSPA is to represent the interests of companies and other organizations producing seeds of native European plants for the re-establishment of healthy, resistant and resilient ecosystems and for landscaping, revegetation and rehabilitation projects. ENSPA aims to help to establish a favorable operating environment for its members, to establish common ethical and quality Standards, including the creation of a forum for discussion on non-competitive issues, and by providing information to assist the members in their business.
Sarah Kulpa, Restoration Ecologist/Botanist, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Reno, Nevada, USA
Nevada Native Seed Forum
Inspired by the 2015 National Seed Strategy, which was developed to address widespread shortages of native seed, federal, state, tribal, non-profit, and university partners in Nevada began meeting and formed the Nevada Native Seed Partnership (NNSP). The mission of the NNSP is to keep Nevada lands diverse and functioning by using the right seed in the right place at the right time. In 2020, the NNSP finalized the Nevada Seed Strategy, a step-down from the National Seed Strategy, which aims to increase the availability and use of native seed for rehabilitation, reclamation, and restoration treatments in Nevada.
Stefan Weber, Ontario Plant Restoration Alliance (OPRA), Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Scaling local seed resources with the Ontario Plant Restoration Alliance
The Ontario Plant Restoration Alliance (OPRA) works collaboratively with conservation leaders to develop regional seed strategies in southern Ontario and is focused on establishing ex situ populations of uncommon native plants to serve as seed orchards for future restoration. We are proud members of the Ontario Biodiversity Council and work with many organizations such local land trusts and Conservation Authorities, as well as the Royal Botanical Garden, Carolinian Canada, World Wildlife Fund, and the Ontario Native Plant Growers. Association. OPRA also hosts public seed collection and cleaning workshops and has engaged in some of the most recent market research on the native plant industry in Ontario.
Héctor Avila Villegas, Cosmos: Native seeds, ecological restoration and pollinator conservation, Aquascalientes, Mexico
Cosmos – Native seed supply for central Mexico
In Mexico, seed-based ecological restoration is currently not a common practice. Likewise, native seed supply from national, regional or local sources is extremely limited. Motivated by an interest in creating habitat for pollinator conservation, I began collecting native seeds from wild local populations in the state of Aguascalientes in the central lowlands (el Bajío) region. In 2019, I formed Cosmos, to produce native seeds and create pilot habitat restoration projects. Our work also includes outreach and education to increase awareness about the cultural and ecological value and the diversity of native plants, seeds and pollinators in the region. As one of the first and only native seed producers in Mexico, I will share our current plans and opportunities for developing native seed supply and ways to integrate pollinator habitat into urban, agricultural and natural areas.
Sefra Alexandra, Ecotype Project / CT NOFA (Northeast Organic Farming Association), Connecticut, USA
Ecotypes, Ecoregions + Ecological Restoration / Fortifying an Ecotypic Seed Production Network in the Northeastern US As stewards of the land we all understand the importance of protecting, conserving & restoring our natural ecosystems. The Ecotype Project of CT NOFA is aggregating seed producers to amplify the availability of ecotypic seed with the impetus to fortify the living seed banks of our shared ecological corridors. Join us and learn about our initiative to architect a "seed shed" for native plants material development in our ecoregion as a model for ecological restoration by putting the right plants in the right place.
Session abstract:
Ecological restoration initiatives are increasing in both number and scale globally. Native plant seed is the foundation of almost every ecological restoration project, and as the scale of restoration projects increases, so too the need for native seed is expected to grow. Restoration efforts regularly rely on the use of thousands of tons of native plant seed, requiring investments of hundreds of millions of US dollars. There is a global push to improve access to, and the supply of high quality, biodiverse, and genetically appropriate seed to facilitate successful restoration outcomes. Ensuring a consistent supply of high-quality native plant seed from appropriate sources represents one of the most significant constraints facing restoration practitioners. This workshop will present lessons learned from ongoing efforts to establish seed supplies in various regions and at scales ranging from local to multinational. Presenters will talk about their network or initiative, what stage of growth they are in, and the key factors in their success, as well as lessons learned. They will include the political, financial, and cultural context of their seed program. Following the presentations, we will facilitate roundtable discussion with the intent of building collaborative connections and learning from each other’s experiences.
W5: Scaling up ecologically appropriate seed supply in Canada: How the National Tree Seed Centre can help
Organizers: Donnie McPhee, Martin Williams, and Melissa Spearing, Natural Resources Canada, Atlantic Forestry Centre, Canada
June 18 at 1PM EDT
The National Tree Seed Centre (NTSC) is Canada's only national seed bank conserving the genetic diversity of temperate and boreal forest species. Since 1967, the NTSC has curated a living library for the global research community, with over 18,000 unique collections of 120 native woody species, detailed by collection coordinates. This diverse collection is available to anyone researching ecology, biochemistry, breeding, genomics, restoration, reclamation, climate change or for educational purposes. Seed collections to protect and study herbaceous plant species at risk are also underway with First Nations, Parks Canada, NGOs and jurisdictional governments.
In this virtual workshop, NTSC staff will lead a tour of the seed bank, tissue culture and cryogenic facilities in Fredericton, New Brunswick. We will demonstrate the core collection activities, seed quality control, standard and exploratory testing, and 50 years of seed trait data available for restoration planning. Federal collaborators will present related research from the fields of genomics, Species at Risk recovery, and climate-based seed transfer.
The NTSC will engage SER2021 participants to help overcome challenges related to seed supply and conservation in Canada, before cumulative stressors accelerate. Key questions include “How can NTSC support your projects and supply chain of native plant materials?”, “How do we encourage policies requiring appropriate seed outside of industrial forestry?”, and “What Canadian species need a seed-based action plan now?”. Workshop polling and post-conference surveys will harness the power of this conference to improve seed-based restoration outcomes in all temperate forest biomes.
Canadian Forest Service Research Centre Presentations:
Donnie McPhee
Overview, History, Functions and Collaborators of the NTSC
NTSC Staff
Video tour featuring NTSC laboratory in action: processing equipment, freezers, germinators, greenhouse, testing methodology and value-added data.
Martin Williams
Extended tour of Atlantic Forestry Centre conservation team facilities and recovery projects: tour cryogenic storage, tissue culture, highlight CONFORGEN targets, butternut recovery and Furbisher’s lousewort.
Nathalie Isabel
Tissue culture laboratory tour. Highlight Laurentian Forestry Centre studies and tools improving seed supply and restoration outcomes.
Dan McKenney, John Pedlar
Review of Great Lakes Forestry Centre studies and tools improving seed supply and restoration outcomes (i.e. Plant hardiness, SeedWhere, Forest Change).
Nicolas Mansuy
Review National Forestry Centre studies and tools improving seed supply and restoration outcomes in Alberta and Western Canada.
Melissa Spearing
Seed Supply: An overview of the NTSC Cumulative Effects project and outcomes by 2023.
Panel Discussion: Seed supply issues for forested/woody ecosystems and Species at Risk case studies. Moderators: Melissa Spearing and Donnie McPhee
Panel members: Natural Resource Canada speakers
Questions:
What policies or organizations are effectively ensuring appropriate seed supply in your area? What would you like to see in place? Is it better to encourage or legislate best practices?
For Canadian participants: What species need a seed-based action plan?
Live polling of participants:
§ Were you aware of the NTSC or its mandate prior to SER2021? (Note your country)
§ Have you ever requested seed from NTSC?
§ Are you engaged in restoration research where Canadian seed samples or NTSC data would be of benefit?
§ Would you be open to future collaboration on collection targets if you are working in an NTSC gap area?
§ Do you need assistance or training on native seed collections, testing or certification?
§ Can NTSC contact you about projects, training and seed supply surveys? (Opt-in option)
W10: Making native seed standards a commercial reality
Organizers: Simone Pedrini and Kingsley Dixon, Curtin University, Bentley, Australia; Nancy Shaw, US Forest Service, Boise, Idaho, USA
June 17 4pm EDT
The growing demand for native seeds in ecological restoration and rehabilitation, whether for mining, forest or ecosystem restoration, has resulted in a major global industry in the sourcing, supply and sale of native seeds. Until now, there has been little international guidance for ensuring that native seeds have the same standards of quality assurance that are regular practice in the crop and horticultural industries. The International Network for Seed Based Restoration seed (a thematic section of SER) has developed for the first time a synthesis of general practices in the native seed supply chain to derive the Principles and Standards for Native Seeds (‘Standards’). These practices and the underpinning science provide the basis for developing quality measures and guidance statements that are adaptable at the local, biome or national scale. Importantly, these Standards define what is considered native seed in ecological restoration and highlight the differences between native seeds versus seeds of improved genetics. These Standards are not intended to be mandatory, however, the guidance statements provide the foundation upon which regulatory approaches can be developed by constituencies and jurisdictions.
In this workshop, the main steps of the native supply chain, such as seed production, seed quality testing, seed technology and seed use will be presented by the authors of the document. Presentations on the international standards for native seeds in ecological restoration will lead to a discussion on their application in seed supply chain development with suppliers, end-users, and industry, government and NGO representatives.
This workshop will ensure that the suppliers, end-users, industry, government and NGO’s have an opportunity to learn and speak firsthand with some of the authors of the Native Seed Standards, by dedicating 30 minutes to QnA and panel discussion.
Panel members:
Kingsley Dixon, Curtin University, Bentley, Australia
Simone Pedrini, Curtin University, Bentley, Australia
Olga Kildisheva, The Nature Conservancy, Bend, USA
Stephanie Frischie, Xerces Society, Otterbein, USA
Marcello DeVitis, Chicago Botanic Garden, Chicago, USA
Ignazio Urzedo, Curtin University, Bentley, Australia
Anna Bucharova, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
Nancy Shaw, US Forest Service, Boise, USA