Genetically appropriate choices for plant materials to maintain biological diversity

Native plant material use in revegetation or restoration efforts has increased nationally over the past couple of decades, replacing to some extent our past reliance on European grasses. This shift to natives has raised questions about the selection of appropriate genetic stocks, similar to the issues involved in using native trees for reforestation. There is a need and an opportunity for dialog between land managers choosing native plant materials for wildland use, and geneticists who can provide counsel on relevant (but often complicated) details. This guide is intended to foster such a dialog. It synthesizes important genetic principles and provides many examples to better inform land managers, and help them understand the context for advice from geneticists. It focuses on details relevant to the USDA Forest Service’s Rocky Mountain Region, but contains a wealth of information that is relevant elsewhere, as well. Revegetation, restoration, or emergency rehabilitation efforts are conducted at the local level, but assistance can be provided from regional or national levels. Tools are needed to help local land managers make informed decisions when native materials suitable for the site are not commercially available (or feasible), and when seed transfer guidelines or seed zones have not been developed for the particular plant species of interest. Regional strategies can help provide guidance, and lead to economies of scale. Development of this Guide was the top priority in a strategic effort in the Rocky Mountain Region in 2002, to assist our National Forests and Grasslands in addressing their needs for native plant materials. The other products (for example, prioritized lists of species, seed procurement plans, native seed collections from the Forests and Grasslands, common garden studies) remain unfunded at this time. A tremendous amount of scientific study, policy, and infrastructure support the use of merchantable native tree species for reforestation following timber harvest, fire, disease or insect epidemics, and other disturbances. But we are in the early stages of developing and incorporating genetic information into our selection of other native plant materials in public land management. There is also a significant need to understand the interplay between our choices of germplasm and its ecological interaction in the landscape (for example, competitive interactions, pollination ecology, herbivory, etc.). It is hoped that this Guide will be further developed over time or lead to the production of other documents, workshops, policies or procedures, and serve as a catalyst to elevate the need (increase the awareness) for native seed collections and common garden studies.