Seeds of Success National Collection Analysis
Mary Byrne Seeds of Success National Collection Curator GBNPSIP and Colorado Plateau Meeting January 26, 2010 Seeds of Success Increasing Native Plant Materials
Mission To collect, conserve, and develop geographically appropriate native plant materials for restoration Overview
Demand for Native Plant Materials Ecosystem Services Management Tool Laws and Policy Ethics and Philosophy Seeds of Success Overview and Mission SOS National Collection SOS National Collection Analysis Recommendations Demand for Native Plant Materials Ecosystem Services Clean Air Plant remove approximately 50% of human CO2 emissions (Hawkins, Sharrock, and Havens 2008)
Food (FAO 2009) 12 plant species provide ~75% of the world’s food ~30,000 species are edible
Medicines (Hawkins 2008) 80% of the world's population depends on plants for their primary healthcare 50,000 plants have medicinal properties
Erosion buffers (Roman, James-Pirri, and Heltshe 2001)
Filter nutrients from storm-water run-off (Roman, James-Pirri, and Heltshe 2001) Demand for Native Plant Materials Management Tool
Reduce exotic annual species (Cox and Anderson 2004) Extend the grazing season Species diversity gained by restoring lands dominated by crested wheatgrass (Agropyron cristatum) with native species could extend the growing season (Baker et al. 2003)
Agricultural benefits Native habitats support native pollinators which can reduce the cost to farmers for managed pollination services (The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation 2008) Agricultural land surrounded with at least 30% native habitat within 1.2 km of the field can support the delivery of full pollination services by native bees (The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation 2008) Demand for Native Plant Materials Management Tool
Adaptive Management for Climate Change Climate change could result in the extinction of up to half the world's plant species by 2100 (Bramwell 2007)
Decoupling of species associations and local extinctions may lead to
ecosystem collapse, resulting in a decline of ecosystem services (Hawkins, Sharrock, and Havens 2008)
Flowering of Sonoran Desert shrubs may have advanced by 20–41 days from 1894 to 2004 (Bowers 2007) Demand for Native Plant Materials
The quantity and quality of native plant materials is not available for ecological restoration Demand for Native Plant Materials
Native Non-Native
Habit Species Cost/pound Species Cost/pound
Grasses Hesperostipa comata $35.00 Agropyron $1.19 (needle and cristatum threadgrass) (crested wheatgrass) Forbs Lupinus sericeus $90.00 Sanguisorba minor $2.01 (silky lupine) (small burnet)
Shrubs Artemisia nova $25.00 Bassia prostrata $8.00 (black sagebrush) (forage kochia)
Source: BLM Plant Conservation Program Demand for Native Plant Materials Genetic Diversity is Essential
Provide a backbone to ecological functionality Ecosystem functionality cannot be maintained with a few carefully selected species because ecosystems change over
time (Hector et al. 2000) Genetic diversity and ecological integrity Genetic diversity is a major element of ecosystems required to ensure resilience and adaptability (Harris et al. 2006) Maintain fire regime, which can improve wildlife habitat (Main and Richardson 2002) Increase the abundance of wildlife and reverse the decline of populations for a variety of bird species (Davis et al. 2000) Laws and Policy Native Plant Policies and Related Manual Sections
Bureau of Land Management Integrated Vegetation Management Handbook (H1740-2) Chapter 8: Using Native Plant Materials
Appendix 4: Seeds of Success Technical Protocol
Appendix 5: Native Plant Materials Development Program Report to Congress 2002 Laws and Policy Native Plant Policies and Related Manual Sections
Bureau of Land Management BLM Manual (Elzinga, Salzer, and Willoughby 1998) Section 1622: Identify priority species and habitats, develop management objective for them, and sets a ‘threshold levels which indicate when modifications in management direction will be made’
Section 6500: Continuous inventory of special status species, monitoring, and prepare site-specific objectives for special status species in all activity plans, and monitor them to evaluate success
Section 6600: Develop objectives and monitor for special status plant
Section 6840: ‘Evaluate ongoing management to ensure Threatened and Endangered Species conservation objectives are being met…’ and monitor populations and habitats to determine whether management objective are being met. Laws and Policy Native Plant Policies and Related Manual Sections
U.S. Forest Service (USFS 2009) Native Plant Policy Native plants species are the preferred choice for ecological restoration Under no circumstances will non-native invasive species be used
National Park Service Organic Act (1916) Maintain vegetation and other renewable and cultural resources within the park for future generations
USDA-ARS National Plant Germplasm System Mission: Acquire, preserve, evaluate, document, and distribute plant germplasm Laws and Policy Laws
National Environmental Policy Act (1969) Requires Environmental Impact Statements, including effects of proposed actions on plant species
Wilderness Act (1964) Established the National Wilderness Preservation System Maintain ecological features, which includes plants
Endangered Species Act (1973) 747 of 1320 (~57%) taxa listed are plants (FWS 2009) Ethics and Philosophies
Future Generations Future persons have the right to our responsible care (Partridge 2001)
The specific needs of future persons are unknown
The conservation of plant genetic resources is the preservation of options Seeds of Success Increasing Native Plant Materials
Mission To collect, conserve, and develop geographically appropriate native plant materials for restoration
2001 – Congress recognizes the need to increase native plant materials
Seeds of Success (SOS) was founded as the national native seed collection program in the FY02 Federal Budget to be coordinated by the Bureau of Land Management
SOS collects species of restoration priority, not rare, threatened or endangered species Source: BLM Plant Conservation Program Seeds of Success Collecting Teams
65 Collecting Teams Purpose of a Collections Analysis
Evaluate the distribution of seed collections through out target species’ ranges Collecting throughout a species’ range increases the genetic diversity captured in the collection
Genetic diversity sharply increases after sampling 20 populations (Johnson and Lipow 2002)
Reduction in risks associated with ex situ plant conservation Purpose of a Collections Analysis
Assess quality of data collection associated with each seed collection
Reveal gaps in collections areas Strategically form new partnerships to cover targeted species’ ranges Benefits of Seed Banking
(Havens, Maunder, and Guerrant 2004)) Benefits of Seed Banking
Resources required are minimal compared to other
forms of ex situ plant conservation (Havens, Maunder, and Guerrant 2004) Large amounts of genetic diversity can be stored in a relatively small area for long periods of time once the seed is collected
Restoration tool
Food security SOS National Collection
SOS National Collection = Long-term Collection + Working Collection for Distribution
USDA-ARS Western Regional Plant Introduction Station Pullman, WA SOS National Collection Seed Banks
Collection Distribution Centers (short-term) Western Regional Plant Introduction Station, USDA-ARS
National Plant Germplasm System Curatorial Sites, USDA-ARS
Bend Seed Extractory, USFS
Botanic Garden Partners
Long-term Conservation Storage National Center for Genetic Preservation, USDA-ARS
Western Regional Plant Introduction Station, USDA-ARS
Millennium Seed Bank, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew SOS National Collection
• Seed collections: 9,000 • Seed collections in database: 5,713 • Taxa Represented: 3,308 • Seed collections with needed geospatial data for analysis: 3,780 • This will grow as more collections become databased SOS National Collection Analysis Methods
Map the 3,780 SOS Collections with geospatial data using ArcGIS Seeds of Success National Collection 3,780 Seed Collection Sites
Before this analysis SOS had never mapped the National Collection SOS now has mapping capabilities SOS National Collection Analysis Methods
Analyze the locations of seed collections Federal Lands total nearly 1/3 of the U.S. landmass Partnership potential Federal Land Manager Collections Bureau of Land 943 Management U.S. Forest Service 728 Department of Defense 67 U.S. Fish and Wildlife 58 Service National Park Service 19 Bureau of Reclamation 6 State/Private 1962 SOS National Collection Analysis Methods
Assigned habit designations to each taxa in the SOS National Collection Habit Forb Graminoid Shrub Large Woody Plant SOS National Collection Analysis Methods SOS National Collection Analysis Methods
Generate maps to assess the distribution of seed collections throughout species’ ranges
Determine focus species for analysis Select species with the largest collection numbers Focus Species
Habit Species Seed Collections Graminoids Achnatherum hymenoides 114 Indian Ricegrass Hesperostipa comata 21 Needle and Threadgrass Poa secunda 307 Sandberg Bluegrass Forbs Achillea millefolium 6 Common Yarrow Balsamorhiza sagittata 11 Arrowleaf Balsamroot Chaenactis douglasii 6 Douglas’ Dustymaiden Mimulus guttatus 6 Seep Monkeyflower Focus Species
Habit Species Seed Collections Shrubs Artemisia tridentata 10 Big Sagebrush Rhus trilobata 6 Skunkbush Sumac Rosa woodsii 4 Woods’ Rose Tetradymia glabrata 4 Littleleaf Horsebrush Large Woody Plants Cercocarpus montanus 4 Alderleaf Mountain Mahogany Shepherdia argentea 4 Silver Buffaloberry Umbellularia californica 3 California Laurel SOS National Collection Analysis Methods
Map the seed collections of each focus species Develop map layers of the species’ ranges Based on NatureServe Element of Occurrence Records for the species’ occurrence in Omernik Level III Ecoregions Ranges included both ecoregions species are confirmed to exist in and those they may exist in Overlay the seed collections sites on the species range maps Seed Collection Sites: Potential Species Range: States: Achnatherum hymenoides Indian Ricegrass
Photo Credit: BLM Photo Credit: Bend Seed Extractory Hesperostipa comata Needle and Threadgrass
Photo Credit: BLM Photo Credit: Bend Seed Extractory Poa secunda Sandberg Bluegrass
Photo Credit: BLM Photo Credit: Bend Seed Extractory Achillea millefolium Common Yarrow
Photo Credit: BLM Photo Credit: Bend Seed Extractory Balsamorhiza sagittata Arrowleaf Balsamroot
Photo Credit: BLM Photo Credit: Bend Seed Extractory Chaenactis douglasii Douglas’ Dustymaiden
Photo Credit: PLANTS Photo Credit: PLANTS Mimulus guttatus Seep Monkeyflower
Photo Credit: PLANTS Photo Credit: Bend Seed Extractory Artemisia tridentata Big Sagebrush
Photo Credit: BLM Photo Credit: Bend Seed Extractory Rhus trilobata Skunkbush Sumac
Photo Credit: BLM Photo Credit: Bend Seed Extractory Rosa woodsii Woods’ Rose
Photo Credit: BLM Photo Credit: Bend Seed Extractory Tetradymia glabrata Littleleaf Horsebrush
Photo Credit: BLM Photo Credit: Bend Seed Extractory Cercocarpus montanus Alderleaf Mountain Mahogany
Photo Credit: BLM Photo Credit: Bend Seed Extractory Shepherdia argentea Silver Buffaloberry
Photo Credit: BLM Photo Credit: Bend Seed Extractory Umbellularia californica California Laurel
Photo Credit: PLANTS Photo Credit: PLANTS Upcoming Issues and Applications Renewable Energy
Solar Energy Study Area 700,000 acres of BLM Public Land 23 million acres of BLM and DOE Land under review
Potentially heavily impacted by solar panel installation Native plant materials needed Surrounding areas Areas disturbed from construction infrastructure
Seed collection has been recommended as a best management practice in the official review SOS National Collection Analysis Methods
Obtain a map of the Solar Energy Study Areas
Overlay SOS Collections Sites
Analyze how well SOS is collecting in the potentially heavily impacted areas Seed Collection Sites: Solar Energy Study Areas: States: Solar Energy Study Areas
Data Source: BLM 2009, SOS 2009
SOS Collection Sites in the General Study Region Recommendations
Increase Seed Collections Expand the SOS National Collection Establish partnerships and coordinate across collecting teams Federal Land Managers Areas proposed for development
Review Target Species
Improve Data Collection Recommendations Increase Seed Collections
Expand the SOS National Collection Approximately 17,000 plant species are native to the U.S.
9,000 collections is not adequate capture the genetic diversity across priority restoration species’ ranges
20 populations have been sampled for several species
None of the focus species have been collected throughout their range to capture genetic diversity Recommendations Increase Seed Collecting
Establish Partnerships in with Federal Agencies National Park Service 19 collections Manage ~79 million acres U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 58 collection Manage ~95 million Acres Department of Defense 67 collections Manage ~29 million acres Recommendations Increase Seed Collections
Increase seed collections in areas proposed for development Very few in the Solar Energy Study Areas
Capture genetic diversity before the areas are developed Recommendations Review Target Species
Focus species of this analysis are not necessarily those of highest restoration priority Better coordinate collecting efforts Across ecoregions, species’ ranges, political boundaries Commercially Unavailable Species Cost/Pound Balsamorhiza sagittata $40.00 (arrowleaf balsamroot) Ratibida columnaris $35.00 Sphaeralcea grossulariifolia $59.00 (gooseberry leaf globemallow) Sphaeralcea munroana $60.00 (Munro’s globemallow)
(BLM Plant Conservation Program 2009) Recommendations Improve Data Collection of Seed Collection Sites
Quantity Over 2,000 collections in the SOS National Collection have poor or nonexistent geospatial data Detailed locality information exists, but missing geospatial data Gap analysis is underway and data is forthcoming Quality Collections sites appeared in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans Recommendations Improve Data Collection of Seed Collection Sites
Incorporate a Data Collection Section in all SOS Training Courses Emphasis the importance of data collection
Review standardize SOS programmatic techniques Using a GPS Unit Recording and transferring data Conclusion
Seed collection is an effective tool Developing native plant materials Ex situ plant germplasm conservation
Methods of analysis established in this analysis will enable SOS to become more efficient and strategic in its approach to seed collection Literature Cited
Baker, J.D. et al. 2003. Contingency of grassland restoration on year, site, and competition from introduced grasses. Ecological Applications. 13(1): 137-153.
Bowers, J. E. 2007. Has climatic warming altered spring flowering date of Sonoran desert shrubs? The Southwestern Naturalist, 52(3):347-355.
Bramwell, D. The response of botanic gardens to climate change. BGJournal. 4(2): 3-8.
Bureau of Land Management, Plant Conservation Program. Consolidated Seed Buy. 2008
Bureau of Land Management and Department of Energy, date of data. Solar Energy Study Areas, check metadata
Cox, R.D., and Anderson, V.J. 2004. Increasing native diversity of cheatgrass-dominated rangeland through assisted succession. Journal of Range Management. 57(2): 203-210.
Davis, M.A. et al. 2000. Restoring savannah using fire: impact on the breeding bird community. Restoration Ecology. 8(1): 30-40. Literature Cited
Elzinga, C.L., D.W. Salzer, J.W. Willoughby. 1998 Measuring and Monitoring Plant Populations. Bureau of Land Management Technical Reference 1730-1. Denver, CO. Food and Agriculture Organization. 2009. Crop Diversity.
Harris, J.A., Hobbs, R.J., Higgs, E., and Aronson, J. 2006. Ecological restoration and global climate change. Restoration Ecology. 14(2): 170-176. Havens, K., E. Guerrant, M. Maunder. 2001. Ex situ methods: a vital but underused set of conservation resources. p. 3-20. In: Havens, K., E. Guerrant, M. Maunder (eds.) Ex situ plant conservation. Island Press, Washington, D.C. Havens, K., E. Guerrant, M. Maunder. 2001. Ex Situ Methods: A Vital but Underused Set of Conservation Resources. p. 3-20. In: Havens, K., E. Guerrant, M. Maunder (eds.) Ex situ plant conservation. Island Press, Washington, D.C. Havens, K., E. Guerrant, M. Maunder, P. Vitt. 2001. Ex situ methods: a vital but underused set of conservation resources. p. 3-20. In: Havens, K., E. Guerrant, M. Maunder (eds.) Ex situ plant conservation. Island Press, Washington, D.C. Literature Cited
Hawkins, B., 2008. Plants for life: Medicinal plant conservation and botanic gardens. Botanic Gardens Conservation International, Richmond, U.K.
Hawkins, B., Sharrock, S. and Havens, K., 2008. Plants and climate change: which future? Botanic Gardens Conservation International, Richmond, UK. pp. 96.
Hector, A. et al. 2001. Conservation implications of the link between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. Oecologia. 129: 624-628.
Johnson, R. and S. Lipow. 2002. Compatibility of breeding for increased wood production and long-term sustainability: the genetic variation of seed orchard seed and associated risks. Proceedings from the Woody Compatibility Initiative Workshop, number 18. Published by the U.S. Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station.
Partridge, E. 2001. Future Generations. p. 377-389. In: Jamieson, D. (ed.) A Companion to Environmental Philosophy. Island Press, Washington, D.C.
Roman, C., M-J. James-Pirri, J. Heltshe. 2001. Monitoring Salt Marsh Vegetation. National Park Service. Wellfleet, MA. Literature Cited
The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation. 2008. Factsheet Value of Native Bees for Agriculture.
USDA, NRCS. 2009. The PLANTS Database
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 2009. Threatened and Endangered Species.
U.S. Forest Service. 2009. Native Plant Materials.
Al Schneider @ USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database
Bend Seed Extractory, USDA, U.S. Forest Service
BLM Plant Conservation Program
J.S. Peterson @ USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database
Mark W. Skinner @ USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database
Seeds of Success
Steve Hurst @ USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database
USDA, NRCS. 2009. The PLANTS Database (http://plants.usda.gov, 25 November 2009). National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA. Thank You
Peggy Olwell and Scott Lambert, BLM
Olivia Kwong, Plant Conservation Alliance
SOS Collecting Teams
NatureServe
Andrea Kramer, Botanic Gardens Conservation International-US
Mike O’Neal, BG-BASE, Inc.
Jo Ellen Force, Advisor, University of Idaho
Eva Strand and Mel Johnson, University of Idaho