Conservation, Adaptation, and
Seed Zones for Key Great
Basin Species
R.C. Johnson1, Mike Cashman1, Barbara Hellier1,
Matt Horning2, Brad St Clair3, Francis Kilkenny3,
Erin Espeland4, Elizabeth Leger5, and Ken VanceBorland6
1ARS,
Plant Genetic Resources, Pullman, WA
2USFS, Bend, OR
3USFS, Corvallis, OR
4USDA, ARS, Northern Plains Agricultural Research,
Sidney, MT
5University of Nevada, Reno, NV
6Conservation Planning Institute, Corvallis, OR
Agricultural
Research Service
Outline
•Partnerships for native restoration (ARS, USFS, BLM) and
Seeds of Success (SOS)
-Acquisition, documentation, distribution of plant genetic resources
•Ecological genetics or genecology: “Home on the range”
-Seed collection, common gardens, mapping seed zones
-Species updates: Sandberg bluegrass (Poa secunda)
-Compilation of species phenology and production with temperature
and drought stress
•Implementation
Using seed zones
Pressures on the landscape reducing genetic diversity
of native germplasm and the stability of ecosystems
Seeds of Success (SOS) :Collect, conserve, distribute, and
develop native plant materials for restoration
Seeds of Success (SOS) was
established in 2001 by the
Bureau of Land Management
(BLM) in partnership with the
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Millennium Seed Bank (MSB).
Now SOS and the
National Plant Germplasm
System are partnering to collect
and conserve key native plant
materials. So far more than 8500
new native accessions are now in
the NPGS.
Seeds of Success and the National Plant
Germplasm System
Research collections
Security back-up
•Evaluation data
•Seed zone development
NCGRP, Fort Collins
NPGS Curators
SOS
Collections
Pullman
Distribution
Distribution
Germplasm
documentation
(GRIN database)
Seeds of Success distributions
SOS distributions by year
900
Cumulative SOS distrutions
3200
Packets
800
Taxa
Taxa
2800
Orders
700
Packets
Orders
2400
600
2000
500
1600
400
1200
300
200
800
100
400
0
0
06
07
08
09
10
11
12
13
06
07
08
09
10
11
12
13
In 2013 more than 1500 new native plant accessions were
added to the SOS-NPGS collection, which now totals more
than 8,600 accessions. Since 2006, nearly 3300 seed
distributions have been made for research projects including
federal, state, and private cooperators.
Providing adapted genetic resources for restoration. Two approaches:
1945
The “Crop” based approach
(“don’t fence me in”):
selections are made from plant
collections representing
genetically diverse
populations. Many populations
are discarded to focus on
fewer elite populations.
An “Ecological" based
approach
(“home on the range”): wild
populations are collected
within a seed zone are planted
back to the areas within the
zones where restoration is
needed.
1946
* But “Drifting along like a
tumbling tumbleweed” is not
an option
Genecology for ecological restoration
Germplasm
collection
Common garden
evaluations for
genetic traits
Regression modeling of
plant traits with source
location climate
Mt. Brome, NE Oregon
Multivariate
traits for data
reduction
Link plant traits
to source
location climate
GIS mapping of plant
traits with climate for
seed zones
Tapertip onion, Great Basin
Indian ricegrass, SW U.S.
Genecology research is ongoing for
many key North American species
cooperative among BLM, Forest
Service, and ARS
-Mt. Brome (published)
-Tapertip onion (published)
-Indian ricegrass (published)
-Bluebunch wheatgrass(published)
-Sandberg bluegrass (nearly complete)
-Thurbers’ needlegrass (data collected)
-Basin wildrye (data collected)
-Prairie junegrass (nearly complete)
-Bottlebrush squirreltail (data collected)
-Sulfur-flowered buckwheat (germplasm
collected)
Sandberg bluegrass
•Common gardens with 130 locations
•Two families within locations
•RCB with 6 replications
•Two main garden sites (Central
Ferry, WA; Powell Butte, OR)
•Maternal effects and plasticity
studies study ongoing
Sandberg Bluegrass Common Gardens
Phenology
Heading, day of year
Blooming, day of year
Maturity, day of year
Heading to bloom, days
Heading to maturity, days
Bloom to maturity, days
Production
Survival, %
Panicles plant
Dry weight, g
Crown area, cm2
Morphology
Leaf length to width ratio
Leaf length x width, cm2
Plant habit, 1(prostrate) to 9
(upright)
Culm length, cm
Panicle length, cm
•All traits were highly significant (P<0.01) for
source locations both years. Genetic variation
across the landscape
•The garden site x location interaction was also
highly significant. Plasticity present
•Variance components of source locations and
families (within locations) revealed that 77% was
attributed to locations. Facultative apomictic
species
•Correlations between traits and all garden siteyear combinations were always positive and
highly significant in 85 of 90 possible cases,
averaging r=0.57. Interactions were of magnitude
not direction; data were averaged over years and
sites for multivariate statistics and modeling traits
with climate. Correspondence among common
garden environments for traits
Climate variables between 1991 to 2010 derived
for each source location
MAT
mean annual temperature (°C),
MWMT mean warmest month temperature (°C),
MCMT mean coldest month temperature (°C),
TD
temperature difference between MWMT and MCMT, continentality
MAP
mean annual precipitation (mm),
MSP
mean summer (May to Sept.) precipitation (mm),
AH:M
annual heat:moisture index (MAT+10)/(MAP/1000))
SH:M
summer heat:moisture index ((MWMT)/(MSP/1000))
DD<0 (DD_0) degree-days below 0°C, chilling degree-days
DD>5 (DD5) degree-days above 5°C, growing degree-days
DD<18 (DD_18) degree-days below 18°C, heating degree-days
DD>18 (DD18) degree-days above 18°C, cooling degree-days
NFFD
the number of frost-free days
FFP
frost-free period
bFFP
the Julian date on which FFP begins
eFFP
the Julian date on which FFP ends
PAS
precipitation as snow (mm)
EMT
extreme minimum temperature over 30 years. .
EXT
extreme maximum temperature over 30 years.
Eref
Hargreaves reference evaporation
CMD
Hargreaves climatic moisture deficit
Mapping of Regression Models for Sandberg Bluegrass Traits
in the Intermountain West
R2=0.46
R2=0.36
Earlier heading and smaller leaf area were associated with warmer
dryer areas of the Columbia basin, Snake River Plain, and parts of
the Central Basin and Range.
Canonical correlation of garden traits
with source climate used to develop
composite plant traits for developing
seed zones.
The first three canonical traits were
highly significant P<0.01) and
explained 64% of the variation (31, 16,
and 14%, respectively, presented to
scale).
R2=0.71
Shows links between garden traits and
climate suggesting natural selection and
adaptation of Sandberg bluegrass to
diverse climates.
R2=0.51
R2=0.48
CanCorr 1 especially distinguished
the warmer, dryer regions in the
Columbia Basin, Snake River Plain,
and Central Basin and Range from
cooler, wetter regions, especially the
“Cascade salient”.
Mean phenology, production, and leaf morphology of
three desert and one mesic species
Species
Collection region
n
Indian ricegrass (desert)
Sandberg bluegrass (desert)
Tapertip onion (desert)
Mt. brome (mesic)
Southwest
Great basin
Great basin
Blue Mountains
99
130
55
147
Heading/bolt Dry wt.
g
day of yr.
170
37.4
117
41.3
108
5.2
128
198
•Data for different species were evaluated in different common
garden environments revealing genetic variation related to source
climates.
•Only qualitative comparisons should be considered between
species; may not be true for other desert or mesic species.
•Mt. Brome had much higher production than Indian ricegrass,
Sandberg bluegrass, and Tapertip onion.
Climate traits averaged over source locations for three desert and one
mesic species from the Intermountain West
Species
Indian ricegrass (desert)
n
99
Sandberg bluegrass (desert) 130
Tapertip onion (desert)
55
Mt. brome (mesic)
147
Collection region
AHM
MAT
MAP
MSP
°C
mm
mm °C/mm
Southwest
11.7
308
121
77.1
Great basin
Great Basin
Blue mountains
8.7
7.7
6.5
553
374
830
136
109
213
43.8
50.8
22.2
MAT= mean annual temp,°C
MAP= mean ann. precip, mm
MSP= mean summer precip, mm
AHM= annual heat:moisture index, (MAT+10°C]/[MSP mm/1000)
•Higher annual heat moisture index (AHM) indicates higher
temperature and drought stress environments.
•AHM ranged from 22 for Mt. brome to 77 for Indian ricegrass with
Sandberg bluegrass and Tapertip onion intermediate.
Phenology
180
Production
200
Mt. brome r= 0.31**
Indian ricegrass r= -0.38**
160
160
150
140
130
Mt. brome r= 0.17*
120
Sandberg bluegrass r= -0.43
110
Tapertip onion r= -0.41**
100
0
20
40
60
80
100 120 140 160 180
Annual heat moisture index
Dry wt. (g)
Heading\bolting (day of year)
170
240
120
80
Indian ricegrass r= -0.25**
40
Sandberg bluegrass r= -0.25**
Tapertip onion r= -0.35**
0
0
20
40
60
80
100 120 140 160 180
Annual heat moisture index
For desert species, plants from higher stress climates (higher AHM) had earlier spring
development and lower dry wt. (negative slope).
•Higher temperatures and evaporative demand of later spring-summer are avoided;
water use efficiency is promoted.
•Smaller plants should result in less potential water use in high stress environments.
The mesic Mt. Brome had more production and somewhat later heading in warmer, dryer
source climates (positive slope).
•The higher stress source locations of the desert species was not encountered;
growth potential was enhanced for sources from somewhat warmer temperature
environments.
Using seed zones:
•Collect or assemble germplasm
within each seed zone.
•Contract with seed growers to
propagate seed zone derived plant
materials.
•Document and release germplasm for
use in designated zones.
•Inventory and store seeds to supply
plant materials for restoration.
•Practice ongoing restoration in
degraded areas before and after fire or
other disturbances.
•Research provisional seed zones,
multiple species zones.
Biggest problems may be:
•Limited resources
•Tradition, policy, and political barriers
Sure, we can’t get the
toothpaste back in the
tube…
…but
please, do
not squeeze
from the top
Summary
•Seeds of Success native plant germplasm conserved through the
National Plant Germplasm System is being distributed and utilized in
public and private sectors
•Genecology for seed zone development is being completed on numerous
key native restoration species cooperative among BLM, ARS, and the
USFS.
•For Sandberg bluegrass, climate at source locations and plant traits were
linked using canonical correlation, resulting in relatively strong regression
models.
•Genecology (“Home on the range”) leads to comprehensive collection,
evaluation, and conservation of native plant germplasm, and promotes
adaptation and diversity of plant materials used for restoration.