Conservation, Adaptation, and Seed Zones for Key Great ...
Transcript of Conservation, Adaptation, and Seed Zones for Key Great ...
R.C. Johnson1, Mike Cashman1, Barbara Hellier1,
Matt Horning2, Brad St Clair3, Francis Kilkenny3,
Erin Espeland4, Elizabeth Leger5, and Ken Vance-
Borland6 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
Conservation, Adaptation, and
Seed Zones for Key Great
Basin Species
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) 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 (SOS) :Collect, conserve, distribute, and develop native plant materials for restoration
SOS Collections
Pullman
Germplasm documentation (GRIN database)
Security back-up NCGRP, Fort Collins
NPGS Curators
Distribution
Research collections •Evaluation data •Seed zone development
Distribution
Seeds of Success and the National Plant
Germplasm System
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SOS distributions by year
Packets
Taxa
Orders
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Cumulative SOS distrutions
Packets
Taxa
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Seeds of Success distributions
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:
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.
1945 1946
* But “Drifting along like a
tumbling tumbleweed” is not
an option
Germplasm collection
Multivariate traits for data
reduction
Link plant traits to source
location climate
Common garden evaluations for genetic traits
Regression modeling of plant traits with source
location climate
GIS mapping of plant traits with climate for
seed zones
Mt. Brome, NE Oregon Tapertip onion, Great Basin Indian ricegrass, SW U.S.
Genecology for ecological restoration
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
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
Sandberg Bluegrass Common Gardens
•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 site-year 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
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
Climate variables between 1991 to 2010 derived
for each source location
Mapping of Regression Models for Sandberg Bluegrass Traits
in the Intermountain West
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.
R2=0.46 R2=0.36
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
R2=0.51 R2=0.48
Canonical correlation of garden traits
with source climate used to develop
composite plant traits for developing
seed zones.
Shows links between garden traits and
climate suggesting natural selection and
adaptation of Sandberg bluegrass to
diverse climates.
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”.
Species Collection region n Heading/bolt Dry wt.
day of yr. g
Indian ricegrass (desert) Southwest 99 170 37.4
Sandberg bluegrass (desert) Great basin 130 117 41.3 Tapertip onion (desert) Great basin 55 108 5.2 Mt. brome (mesic) Blue Mountains 147 128 198
•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.
Mean phenology, production, and leaf morphology of three desert and one mesic species
Species n Collection region MAT MAP MSP AHM
°C mm mm °C/mm
Indian ricegrass (desert) 99 Southwest 11.7 308 121 77.1
Sandberg bluegrass (desert) 130 Great basin 8.7 553 136 43.8
Tapertip onion (desert) 55 Great Basin 7.7 374 109 50.8
Mt. brome (mesic) 147 Blue mountains 6.5 830 213 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)
Climate traits averaged over source locations for three desert and one mesic species from the Intermountain West
•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.
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Dry
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Annual heat moisture index
Production
Mt. brome r= 0.31**
Indian ricegrass r= -0.25**
Sandberg bluegrass r= -0.25** Tapertip onion r= -0.35**
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.
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Annual heat moisture index
Phenology
Indian ricegrass r= -0.38**
Mt. brome r= 0.17*
Sandberg bluegrass r= -0.43
Tapertip onion r= -0.41**
Sure, we can’t get the
toothpaste back in the
tube…
…but
please, do
not squeeze
from the top
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
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.