Seed and seedling supply for forest and landscape restoration

Seed and seedling supply for forest and landscape restoration

Are you involved in implementing forest and landscape restoration projects or buying or selling planting material for restoration?
If yes, kindly respond to this survey to help identify existing capacities and capacity needs in sourcing tree seeds and seedlings for diverse restoration objectives:

 

Global forest and landscape restoration commitments require large amounts of tree seed and seedlings and provide opportunities for local stakeholders to participate in seed supply. At the same time, forest loss and degradation reduce seed availability and quality, making seed sourcing increasingly difficult for individual projects.

Call for papers on "Impacts of Climate Change on Long Term Viability of Trees Species with Recalcitrant Seeds"

Narkis Morales San Martin, Adjunct Professor in the Departamento de Ecosistemas y Medio Ambiente at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, is co-editing a new article collection, “Impacts of Climate Change on Long Term Viability of Trees Species with Recalcitrant Seeds” on the journal Frontiers in Forests and Global Change. You can learn more about the scope of the topic and its accepted article types here: Impacts of Climate Change on Long Term Viability of Trees Species with Recalcitrant Seeds.

If you are interested in contributing to the special issue, please feel free to register via the link above. Frontiers will shortly provide further details.

Whilst not mandatory, you are encouraged to submit an abstract (or short outline of the manuscript) by 12 August 2022. The deadline for submissions is 12 October 2022, but Frontiers will aim to accommodate extensions on a case-by-case basis.

For further queries you can reach the dedicated specialist, Lily Campbell at orestsandglobalchange.submissions@frontiersin.org should you need any help.

Native Seed in Restoration Workshop 2022: Native Seed Programs and New Technologies

Native Seed in Restoration Workshop 2022: Native Seed Programs and New Technologies

More than 900 individuals from 25+ countries registered for the March 8, 2022, Native Seed in Restoration Workshop, which brought together experts working in seed-based restoration around the world to discuss key elements of the native seed supply chain. This virtual event was organized by the International Network for Seed-based Restoration, the Nature Conservancy, SER, and the US Bureau of Land Management, with assistance from the Great Basin Fire Science Exchange.

Please Kew, don’t drop the SID (Seed Information Database)

Please Kew, don’t drop the SID (Seed Information Database)

AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE ABOUT THE FUTURE OF SID (SEED INFORMATION DATABASE) AND HOW YOU CAN HEL

In December 2021, RBG - Kew announced that, due to an agency compliance issue regarding accessibility, they will discontinue the Seed Information Database (SID) in March 2022.

SID has been an invaluable and reliable source of information on native seeds for countless stakeholders for many years. It provides user-friendly access to essential information on seed weight, storage behaviour, germination requirements, and other traits for more than 50.000 plant taxa. This wealth of information has supported everyday operations in scientific research, seed use in ecological restoration, seed collection and propagation, and teaching (just to name a few). Upon learning about the plans to discontinue SID, members of the native seed community expressed their concern about this news.

Genetic differentiation of populations restored using regional seeds

Genetic differentiation of populations restored using regional seeds

When restoring vegetation, especially in patchy landscapes, we often cannot simply rely on natural succession. Active restoration measures are needed, often involving the sowing of seeds. There is a growing consensus that seeds should be of at least regional provenance, but regional seeds are a limited resource and direct harvesting might damage existing ecosystems. That is where agricultural propagation and the commercial production of regional seeds come into play. It raises the question to what extent agricultural propagation alters the seeds’ genetic composition. In the end, however, what matters is how different the restored populations are from surrounding natural populations (if there are any left).

Proposal to Institute Membership Dues

Proposal to Institute Membership Dues

During the May 2021 monthly Board meeting, the INSR Board (with support of SER) proposed a variety of changes to our membership structure and fee rates in order to better serve our Section. During the October 2021 INSR membership meeting, the INSR Board moved this Proposal to the Section for a vote. The Section voted overwhelmingly in favor of implementing membership fees (74% in favor). The introduction of membership dues will enable the Section to continue its current services and tools, as well as expand our work to meet member needs. The Board will continue to submit proposals seeking additional funding for larger projects. The following changes will take effect 1 December 2021.

2021 annual membership meeting

On October 18, 2021, INSR hosted its annual membership meeting. In the meeting, we presented an Introduction of INSR and 2021 highlights, the new proposed fees for members, the treasury report, the nominations and elections for the INSR board, the ambassador program, and the website: resources, news articles; Social media. The short presentation was followed by a Q&A discussion with members

If you missed our last meeting in October 2021 you can watch it here. SER has kindly provided the recording of the meeting.

Networks and Other Strategies for Developing Regional Native Seed Supply to Meet Restoration Needs, June 17, 2021.

Networks and Other Strategies for Developing Regional Native Seed Supply to Meet Restoration Needs, June 17, 2021.

The workshop, organized by Stephanie Frischie, featured seven representatives of native seed networks from three continents who gave lighting round presentations to explain the rationale, activities, funding and future outlook for their respective networks. Several common themes are working with a variety of stakeholders, from indigenous, government, private companies, organizations, farmers, conservationists, botanists, seed banks to build an appropriate supply of seed for their region while minimizing the pressures that are put on wild populations.

What we do matters, but boy is it hard

What we do matters, but boy is it hard

As a restoration practitioner, I hope that every time I put a seed in the ground, I’ve done a bit of good in the world. At the same time, I sit on the edge of my seat after adding thousands of seeds, waiting for that one individual to emerge and make it to adulthood. Sometimes, that back and forth makes it hard to understand if my restoration work is making a consistent difference across the landscape. Scaling from my own work to all of our combined efforts in restoration is even more mind-bending.

Overview - Restoring understory plant diversity: considerations when incorporating native forbs in restoration

Overview - Restoring understory plant diversity: considerations when incorporating native forbs in restoration

Native forbs provide important food and shelter resources for wildlife and are the component that adds species diversity to many native plant communities. This symposium provided an overview of some important aspects to consider when using native forbs in restoration and highlights recent work relevant to different phases of restoration.

Reasons to be hopeful: Lessons from the symposium “The True Green Infrastructure: Model to Develop Native Plant Materials from Wildland Seed to Restoration” in the U.S.

Reasons to be hopeful: Lessons from the symposium “The True Green Infrastructure: Model to Develop Native Plant Materials from Wildland Seed to Restoration” in the U.S.

This symposium covered a national U.S. approach to developing commercially available, locally adapted native seed for restoring resilient ecosystems. Five speakers contributed talks highlighting attributes of using and developing native seed, from wildland seed collection, to monitoring after restoration, to the history of native seed development by U.S. federal agencies.

Seed production areas are crucial to conservation outcomes: benefits and risks of an emerging restoration tool

Seed production areas are crucial to conservation outcomes: benefits and risks of an emerging restoration tool

A new review article is now available in Biodiversity and Conservation about seed production areas (SPAs) from Zinnen et al. (2021). The review synthesizes research about SPAs, as well as other literature applicable to the topic. It provides a comprehensive investigation into the SPA literature and highlights the disproportionate influence of SPAs on conservation and restoration outcomes.

Aspirin could take the headache out of seed-based restoration

Aspirin could take the headache out of seed-based restoration

Recently published research reveals that aspirin can do more than just heal your headache. It can also help with restoring ecosystems that have been damaged and establishing sustainable pastures. This study performed on native perennial grasses showed that very low concentrations of Salicylic acid, applied to the seed can improve plant survival.

Small mammals influence plant community structure around the world by preferentially consuming seeds of certain sizes and implications for ecological restoration

Small mammals influence plant community structure around the world by preferentially consuming seeds of certain sizes and implications for ecological restoration

Scientists have long recognized that rodents and other small mammals are such voracious seed predators that they could affect plant abundance in natural systems. However, many plant species produce so many more seeds than are necessary to replace and expand their populations that seed predation may have negligible effects on plant populations and communities…