Producing native plant materials for restoration: 10 rules to collect and maintain genetic diversity

Abstract

Ecological restoration aims to assist the recovery of degraded, damaged, or destroyed ecosystems. Restoration practitioners increasingly recognize the value of using ecologically appropriate and genetically diverse native plant material to support ecosystem recovery and long-term persistence in the face of unpredictable current and future conditions. Producing genetically diverse native plant material, however, can be incredibly challenging. Each step of production, from procuring raw material to installing produced material into a restoration site, has the potential to affect the genetic diversity of the produced material. Here we examine each of the production steps, from wildland seed collection through seed or seedling production. We outline each step where genetic diversity can be lost or gained, and describe 10 rules that can be used to maintain high genetic variability in native plant material throughout the production process.