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
Habit
Species
Non-Native
Cost/pound
Species
Cost/pound
Grasses Hesperostipa comata
(needle and
threadgrass)
$35.00
Agropyron
cristatum
(crested
wheatgrass)
$1.19
Forbs
Lupinus sericeus
(silky lupine)
$90.00
Sanguisorba minor
(small burnet)
$2.01
Shrubs
Artemisia nova
(black sagebrush)
$25.00
Bassia prostrata
(forage kochia)
$8.00
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
Bureau of Land
Management
U.S. Forest Service
Department of Defense
U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service
National Park Service
Collections
943
Bureau of Reclamation
6
1962
State/Private
728
67
58
19
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
Graminoids
Achnatherum hymenoides
Indian Ricegrass
Hesperostipa comata
Needle and Threadgrass
Poa secunda
Sandberg Bluegrass
Achillea millefolium
Common Yarrow
Balsamorhiza sagittata
Arrowleaf Balsamroot
Chaenactis douglasii
Douglas’ Dustymaiden
Mimulus guttatus
Seep Monkeyflower
Forbs
Seed Collections
114
21
307
6
11
6
6
Focus Species
Habit
Species
Seed Collections
Artemisia tridentata
Big Sagebrush
Rhus trilobata
Skunkbush Sumac
Rosa woodsii
Woods’ Rose
Tetradymia glabrata
Littleleaf Horsebrush
Large Woody Plants Cercocarpus montanus
Alderleaf Mountain Mahogany
Shepherdia argentea
Silver Buffaloberry
Umbellularia californica
California Laurel
10
Shrubs
6
4
4
4
4
3
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
Balsamorhiza sagittata
(arrowleaf balsamroot)
Ratibida columnaris
Sphaeralcea grossulariifolia
(gooseberry leaf globemallow)
Sphaeralcea munroana
(Munro’s globemallow)
Cost/Pound
$40.00
$35.00
$59.00
$60.00
(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.
<http.www.fao.org/biodiversity/geneticresources/bio-crops/en/> Accessed 24 Nov. 2009.
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.
<http://www.xerces.org/wpcontent/uploads/2008/10/factsheet_value_of_native_bees_for_ag
riculture.pdf> Accessed 11 Nov. 2009.
USDA, NRCS. 2009. The PLANTS Database <http://plants.usda.gov> Accessed 25 Nov. 2009.
National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 2009. Threatened and Endangered Species.
<http://ecos.fws.gov/tess_public/TESSBoxscore> Accessed 25 Nov. 2009.
U.S. Forest Service. 2009. Native Plant Materials.
<http://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/nativeplantmaterials/whatare.shtml> Accessed 11 Nov.
2009.
Photo Credits
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