The right seed…
SUMMARY
Restoring damaged ecosystems starts with choosing the right seed, but this decision can be complicated. We compared guidance used by federal land management agencies with practices described in scientific literature to illustrate differences between how seed is used and how seed can be used most successfully. The scientific literature often focuses on genetics, local adaptation, and how plants respond to climate change, while federal agencies emphasize practical needs like cost, availability, and using seeds that are suited to local environments. Although both groups share priorities, important gaps remain—especially around managing genetic risks, adapting to future climates, and increasing the supply of native seed. Continued collaboration among researchers, land managers, and seed producers will ensure that selecting and using native seeds for land management activities will be scientifically sound and feasible to implement.
PERSPECTIVE ARTICLE
Bridging theory and practice to inform seed selection for restoration
Shriver L.C., Jordan S.E., Massatti R., & Munson S.M. (2025). Restoration Ecology, e70174, https://doi.org/10.1111/rec.70174
Introduction: Land managers often face the critical decision of what plant materials to select for ecological restoration. Selection depends on factors that span ecological conditions and human interventions in the restoration process, which can strongly influence the recovery of a degraded ecosystem.
Objectives: To improve the seed selection process, we compared scientific literature and guidance from five federal agencies to bridge seed selection “theory” and “practice” in the interior western and central United States.
Methods: We extracted recurring themes and keywords associated with abiotic, biotic, land management, and producer practices that influence seed selection and analyzed their proportional use between agency guidance and scientific literature.
Results: We identified significant overlap between key concepts in guidance and literature, highlighting the interconnectedness between science and management. However, nuanced patterns emerged across seed selection themes, including more focus in the literature on local adaptation and genetic structure, ramifications of introducing gene flow and artificial selection during plant production, and provenancing strategies to address changing climatic conditions. In contrast, agency guidance focused on genetically appropriate and environmentally suitable seed selection and practical concerns, including seed cost, availability, and diversity. Seed selection studies in the literature were concentrated in the Great Basin and Colorado Plateau, scattered in the Great Plains, and were largely experimental.
Conclusions: Our review suggests new opportunities for co-production of science and decision-making frameworks among researchers, land managers, and seed producers to inform seed selection guidance for restoration.
Implications for Practice: Key differences between the agency guidance and scientific literature indicate opportunities to integrate theory and practice to improve seed selection. Research and guidance to mitigate the genetic risks associated with seed sourcing, production, and use, and to develop climate change adaptation strategies could improve seed selection and restoration outcomes. Incorporating observational and experimental studies into restoration and seed production could inform adaptive management and accelerate the development of seed selection guidance. Modifying seed provenancing strategies could meet emerging needs for restoration sites and strengthen outcomes. Our synthesis of science-based, management-ready decision-support tools can help reduce barriers to implementing seed selection guidance in practice.
Conceptual diagram of the primary factors that contribute to seed selection decision-making along two axes: ecological conditions that include abiotic (e.g. climate, soil type, and physical site conditions) and biotic factors (e.g. species’ traits, genetics, and community interactions), and human interventions that include producer (e.g. seed development, seed certification, and cultivars) and land management practices (e.g. actions related to goals, budgets, and policies) in the restoration process.
