Plant Conservation, Gene Banking,
and Genecology with Climate Change
RC Johnson
USDA-ARS Plant Genetic Resources, Pullman WA
Cooperators: Vicky Erickson, Brad St.Clair
Nancy Shaw, Matt Horning (USFS); Barbara Hellier (ARS);
Peggy Olwell, Scott Lambert, Mary Byrne (BLM)
Agricultural
Research
Service
Outline
Part 1: Native plant
conservation
Part 2: Genecology: the
Mt. Brome example
Part 3: Links to climate
change
Part 1: Conservation
•Compounding problems: invasive weeds,
frequent fires, and climate change
•Role of Seeds of Success (SOS) and the
National Plant Germplasm System (NPGS)
•In situ and ex situ conservation: why both are
needed
Genetic resources on the edge:
-Climate change
-Invasive weeds
-Frequent fires
-Overgrazing
-Revegetation
Any response to
climate change will
require genetic
resources, an
essentially nonrenewable resource
Gaylen Hansen
Genetic Erosion of Native Plant Diversity
INVASION
DISTURBANCE
FIRE
Seeds of Success
Seeds of Success (SOS) was
established in 2001 by the
Bureau of Land Management
(BLM)
An ongoing program to collect,
conserve, and develop native
plant materials for revegetation
and restoration
SOS and the National Plant
Germplasm System are
partnering; approximately
2,000 new native accessions
have been acquired for the
NPGS so far.
SOS Native Plant Materials
Development From collection to utilization
National Plant Germplasm System,
NPGS
WRPIS, Pullman WA ≈ 80,000 accessions total
≈6,000 natives
Examples of U.S. native genera at
the Pullman gene bank
Achillea
Festuca
Achnatherum*
Pseudoroegneria*
Allium*
Lotus
Artemisia
Trifolium
Astragalus
Onobrychis
Bromus*
Leymus*
Elymus*
Lupinus
Poa*
Vicia
*Genecology work underway or planned
NPGS and Natives Germplasm
• Increasingly, native plant material is
preferred for restoration and revegetation
• Collecting and conserving diverse
populations of key species for future use is
critical, especially in the face of habitat loss
and climate change
• Knowledge of how diverse populations
interact with environmental factors such as
precipitation and temperature will help us
plan for a changing climate.
In situ and ex situ conservation
In situ (“in the place”), plant populations in
there normal and native habitat, on site
-Naturally sustained and regenerated
-Areas need identification and protection
-Susceptible to climate change and other
disturbances such as invasive weeds, fire
-Complexity/expense arises with increasing
numbers of species and in situ sites
-Programs to monitor must have long term focus
-Complimentary to ex situ conservation
In situ Conservation Program
with Native Allium
A. fibrillum in
the Umatilla Forest, OR
Barbara Hellier with A. columbianum
In the Turnbill Reserve near Spokane,
WA
In situ and ex situ conservation
Ex situ (“off site”), conservation in botanical
gardens, gene banks, other
- Conserve plant species and populations that
otherwise might become rare, lost, or extinct
-Are immediately available and can be increased
for revegetation\restoration
-Regeneration is ex situ; subject to inadvertent
selection, mechanical and genetic mixing, genetic
bottlenecks, and enhanced drift associated with
relatively small population size
-Complementary to in situ conservation
Blue penstemon
Needle and thread
Two germplasm accessions
collected through the Seeds
of Success (SOS) program
now conserved ex situ at the
Pullman gene bank. More
than 2000 SOS accessions
are now conserved within the
NPGS.
Seed Storage: 4 C, 28% RH
 Distribution samples
are kept in intermediate
storage
Original seed packets are kept
in long-term storage. Options
include liquid nitrogen.

Seed Storage: -20 C Freezer
In situ and ex situ conservation:
a complementary back up system
-An original ex situ collection may be kept “indefinitely”
in long term cold storage
-The ex situ sample is immediately available and can
be replenished by additional collecting in situ
-The ex situ sample can be carefully regenerated and
seed stocks increased for utilization
-If the in situ site is disturbed the ex situ collection
may be used for restoration
-Over time potential changes in in situ populations
can be monitored and compared with the original
seed collections
Part 2: Genecology
Linking adaption with environment
Adapted Germplasm for the Intermountain West:
Genecology studies underway :
Allium acuminatum, Tapertip onion (WRPIS, BLM)
Achnatherum hymenoides, Indian ricegrass (WRPIS,
UN-Reno, BLM)
Bromus carinatus, Mountain Brome (WRPIS, USFS)
Poa secunda, Sandberg bluegrass (WRPIS, USFS,
ARS,BLM)
Pseudoroegneria spicata, Bluebunch wheatgrass
(WRPIS, USFS, BLM)
Koeleria macrantha, Prairie Junegrass (USFS)
Additional Planned at WRPIS:
Achnatherum thurberianum, Thurber's needlegrass
Leymus cinereus, Basin wildrye
Using the Genecology Approach: Benefits
-Diverse collections of key native species facilities ex situ
conservation.
-Common gardens give a wealth of characterization data,
enhancing collection utility.
-Seed transfer zones are developed for revegetation with
adapted germplasm
-Science based in situ conservation sites can be established
-Provides an understanding of how genetic diversity
interacts with environment; helpful in future management
decisions driven by climate change
Mountain Brome is a
predominantly self pollinating, cool
season perennial bunchgrass. Seed
zones needed for restoration,
revegetation in the Blue Mountains
Jeanne R. Janish. 1977.
© The New York Botanical Garden
Mt. Brome
collections at 145
Blue Mountain
locations
Environmental variation for Mt. Brome
collection locations
Variable
Elevation
First fall frost
Last spring frost
Frost free season
Mean annual temp
Mean annual precip.
Range
1535 m
34.9 days
44.2 days
74.9 days
4.41 C
1170 mm
StDev
247 m
8.0 days
9.4 days
17.1 days
0.88 C
268 mm
Diversity in size and habit
Mountain Brome
•Common gardens at Pullman and Central Ferry WA,
2004 and 2005
Phenotypic factors measured on Mountain Brome and their descriptions taken
in the spring and summer of 2004 and 2005 at Central Ferry and Pullman WA
Factor
Description
Winter survival
Measured in early spring
Date first heading
Day of year when first inflorescence extends from sheath
Plant habit
Rated from 1 = prostate to 9 = upright after heading
Leaf width
Width of an upper, fully emerged leaf (cm)
Leaf length
Length of an upper, fully emerged leaf (cm)
Leaf color
Color of an upper,emerged leaf rated from1 = light green to 9 = dark green
Leaf pubescence
Rated from 1 = no pubescence to 9 = heavily pubescence
Leaf texture
Rated from 1= coarse to 9= fine on the entire plant before anthesis
Leaf abundance
Leafiness at heading rated from 1 = low to 9 = high before anthesis
Head abundance
Density of inflorescences per plant rated from 1 = no heads to 9 = high
Plant height
From soil surface to upper plant after anthesis (cm)
Aerial dry matter
Above ground plant dry weight cut at about 5 cm above ground
Crown diameter
Measured perpendicular to rows after plants were cut for dry matter (cm)
Principal components (PC’s) to “simplify”
plant traits for regression modeling
Mt. Brome plant traits = environmental/climatic variables
PC 1 = lat, long, elev, max temp, precip, fall frost date
(Fit R2 = 46%)
PC 2 = max temp, precip, aridity, min temp
(Fit R2 = 40%)
Mt. Brome: General Adaptation
In the Blue Mountains
Plants with:
High,2200 m
Low,750 m
Lower temps
Higher precipitation
Shorter frost free period
Higher temps
Lower precipitation
Longer frost free period
-lower dry weight
-narrower crowns
-fewer leaves, shorter
-shorter development
Plants with:
-higher dry weight
-wider crowns
-more leaves, longer
-longer development
Plant traits as PC 1 =
Environmental variables
Oregon
Part 3: Links
to Climate
Change
All approaches
to restoration
require
germplasm
The Mountain Brome example
and climate change
The Mt. Brome study has given an environmental
framework for revegetation\restoration in the Blue
Mountains
How well will the models work with climate change?
Need validation
Within Mt. Brome, plants adapted to lower elevation may
well migrate upward, but what if they don’t or don’t have
time?
The higher elevation plant material may be lost or only
survive in special niche areas; an ex situ collection is
needed
Scenario 1: Limited conserved diversity
Decreased genetic diversity
Loss of potentially adaptive
alleles: increased genetic vulnerability
Failure to adapt
Increased risk of extinction:
local populations and perhaps species
Adapted from Jump et al. 2009,
Review Trends in Plant Science Vol.14 No.1
Disturbance:
Fire, invasive weeds, other
New disturbance:
rapid change in
environment/climate
Scenario 2: Conserved Diversity with Genecology
Revegetation according
to adaptive seed zone
Use knowledge of adaptation and in situ
monitoring to estimate shifts in
seed zones—working hypotheses
Revegetation with adapted
populations within current species
Consider other native species,
assisted translocation; draw from ex situ and
in situ sources as needed
Disturbance:
Fire, invasive weeds, other
New disturbance:
rapid change in
environment/climate
More extreme climate change,
tipping point reached
Final thoughts:
-Stay fluid: historical viewpoints are unlikely to work; we
can conserve but probably not preserve today's vegetation
-Collect key native species for ex situ conservation
-Establish in situ sites and monitoring systems
-Use genecology to understand plant adaptation and
environment
-Conduct follow-up adaptation studies in different climates
to validate genecology models