Bringing together science and management
SUMMARY
Healthy ecosystems depend on native plants, but the U.S. still lacks enough high-quality native seed to meet growing restoration needs. In this article, we describe the impact of federal programs, which have spent more than 20 years working to improve native seed collection, farming, and use by bringing together land managers, scientists, and seed growers. Federal programs, especially those coordinated by the Bureau of Land Management Plant Conservation and Restoration Program, have expanded the national seed supply and created tools that help people choose the right species and seed sources for different environments. However, major challenges remain, including unpredictable seed demand, changing climatic conditions, and gaps in knowledge on how seeds grow under farming and restoration conditions. We highlight how stronger partnerships, better monitoring, and new decision-making tools may help land stewards more effectively restore damaged landscapes and support resilient plant communities.
PERSPECTIVE ARTICLE
Integrating Science and Management to Improve Seed-Based Restoration
Shriver L.C., Huxley J.D., Jordan S.E., Symstad A.J., DeFalco L.A., Bradford J.B., Esque T.C., Mengelt C., Munson S.M., Barga S.C., Kilkenny F.F., Kindred J., Kulpa S.M., Perkins J.L., Pilmanis A.M., Edwards F.S., Agneray A.C., Butterfield B.J., Faist A.M., Gaddis M., Garbowski M., Goebl A.M., Larson J.E., Benkendorf R.C., Shryock D.F., Slate M.L., Vandergast A.G., Woolridge C.B., Massatti R., Accepted, Ecological Restoration
Abstract
Native plant seed is essential for restoring healthy, resilient ecosystems in an era of global degradation and change. In the United States (U.S.), federal agencies bolster the availability of native seed by coordinating seed collection, agricultural production, and use in restoration and reclamation with a broad network of federal and non-federal partners. As a result, the native seed supply has greatly expanded, but challenges and knowledge gaps remain for effective native seed development and use. To address this need, we synthesize lessons learned from 20+ years of experience across federally organized native plant programs engaged in developing and using native seed. We then identify strategic research directions to ensure that restoration can meet challenges imposed by future land disturbance and other stressors. We focus on the Bureau of Land Management Ecoregional Native Plant Programs, which began in the early 2000s to address growing demand for native seed. Our synthesis reveals that sustained partnerships are essential for connecting a complex network of land managers, researchers, and seed growers to develop seed resources, guidance, and decision-support tools. Partners’ experiences illuminated critical knowledge and technology gaps that constrain our abilities to maintain ecosystem resilience. However, integrating identified research themes into restoration treatments and native seed production could help address uncertainties in native seed production and use. The lessons learned and research directions described here provide a basis for future research and collaborative management to enhance seed-based restoration efforts in the U.S. and beyond.
Restoration Recap
We synthesize lessons learned and future research directions resulting from long-standing federal native plant programs supporting the National Seed Strategy for Rehabilitation and Restoration in the U.S.
Close collaboration among land managers and researchers has resulted in science-based guidance and decision-support tools for seed selection, seed production, and new strategies for ecological restoration and reclamation.
Future research directions aim to address seed sourcing approaches, incorporate climate variability and ecological community interactions into research and practice, compare seed production and restoration techniques, and develop decision-support tools to facilitate science-based management.
Restoration research and practice could benefit from monitoring outcomes with standardized protocols, nationally coordinated data collection and storage, and sustained synthesis to continually update best management practices.
Federal native plant programs provide science and tools available to partners across organizational scales and a blueprint for interdisciplinary collaborations to improve native seed development and use.
Research directions and coordination needs for restoration programs as discrete action items in a network representing their connections and dependencies.
