By Marcello De Vitis
One of the main goals of SGI’s new Native Seed Program is to perform seed collections across the region for the Seeds of Success (SOS) program. Despite the success and broad coverage of SOS, some states still have only a few or zero collections, especially in some of the southeastern states.
Until recently, Tennessee was one of the states with zero collections. After much planning, scouting of wild populations and natural areas, networking, and getting permits, the first SOS seed collections from Tennessee have been made!
One of the goals of SGI’s Native Seed Program is to help provide better coverage of seed collections in the Southeast for the Seeds of Success program. Photo credit: BLM Plant Conservation & Restoration Program
In mid-August, Dr. Marcello De Vitis (SGI Seed Program Director) and Cooper Breeden (SGI Plant Conservation Manager) visited the Couchville Cedar Glade State Natural Area, located between Davidson and Wilson counties in Tennessee. Their goal was to check on the phenology of a few common herbaceous species characteristic of this area and to start collecting data about the site and plant populations.
Cooper Breeden, SGI Plant Conservation Manager, helped collect data for the SOS collections.
The following week, Marcello went back to the site to complete the data collection and to collect seed from two species that were selected through previous scouting and consultation with local botanists and land managers. These species are pinnate prairie coneflower (Ratibida pinnata), and sideoats grama (Bouteloua curtipendula). Three days after being collected, the seeds were on their way to the USFS Bend Seed Extractory for processing
Seed collection of pinnate prairie coneflower (left) and sideoats grama (right).
Performing these seed collections marked two very important milestones for SGI, Tennessee, and the Southeast. Not only were these the first two SOS collections ever from Tennessee and performed by SGI staff, but they will help secure natural plant genetic resources to support much needed ecosystem restoration in the Southeast.
All data were collected according to the SOS technical protocol, which is shared by all SOS teams across the country. SOS is led by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in partnership with a variety of federal agencies and non-federal organizations. The mission of this program is to provide native seed for research, development, germplasm conservation, and ecosystem restoration activities.
The long-term conservation goal of the SOS program is to support BLM's Native Plant Materials Development Program. BLM's Native Plant Materials Development Program’s mission is to increase the quality and quantity of native plant materials available for restoring and supporting resilient ecosystems.
Since it started in 2000, the SOS program has made amazing progress, reaching more than 26,000 seed collections, more than 2,500 collectors trained, and holding collections from 43 states and 93 ecoregions. Visit the SOS webpage for more details and information: https://www.blm.gov/programs/natural-resources/native-plant-communities/native-plant-and-seed-material-development/collection
Marcello De Vitis, Native Seed Program Director (contact: marcello.devitis@segrasslands.org)
Marcello oversees many of SGI’s projects focused on collecting, preserving, and propagating seeds that can be used as a source for restoration. This includes both the Seeds of Success - Southeast program and the Plant It Forward program.