How well do revegetation plantings capture genetic diversity? - PubMed (original) (raw)

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How well do revegetation plantings capture genetic diversity?

Rebecca Jordan et al. Biol Lett. 2019.

Abstract

Revegetation plantings are a key management tool for ecological restoration. Revegetation success is usually measured using ecological traits, however, genetic diversity should also be considered as it can influence fitness, adaptive capacity and long-term viability of revegetation plantings and ecosystem functioning. Here we review the global literature comparing genetic diversity in revegetation plantings to natural stands. Findings from 48 studies suggest variable genetic outcomes of revegetation, with 46% demonstrating higher genetic diversity in revegetation than natural stands and 52% demonstrating lower diversity. Levels of genetic diversity were most strongly associated with the number of source sites used-where information was available, 69% of studies showing higher genetic diversity in revegetation reported using multiple provenances, compared with only 33% for those with lower diversity. However, with a few exceptions, it was unclear whether differences in genetic diversity between revegetation and natural stands were statistically significant. This reflected insufficient reporting of statistical error and metadata within the published studies, which limited conclusions about factors contributing to patterns. Nonetheless, our findings indicate that mixed seed sourcing can contribute to higher genetic diversity in revegetation. Finally, we emphasize the type of metadata needed to determine factors influencing genetic diversity in revegetation and inform restoration efforts.

Keywords: ecological restoration; genetic diversity; heterozygosity; industry practices; provenancing; seed sourcing.

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Conflict of interest statement

We declare we have no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1.

Figure 1.

Average genetic diversity in revegetation as a proportion of average genetic diversity in natural stands. (a) All studies by genetic diversity metric. (b_–_e) Proportion diversity by metric (white) and by ‘form’ (browns) or ‘habitat’ (blues) within metric. A, number of alleles; _A_r, allelic richness; _H_e, expected heterozygosity; P, percentage polymorphic loci.

Figure 2.

Figure 2.

Proportion of studies citing single (1) or multiple (more than 1 for at least one revegetation planting) sites used for revegetation seed sourcing. Data divided into studies where revegetation had higher (a) or lower (b) genetic diversity than natural stands. Left hand pie charts = proportion of studies with known (white) and unknown (black) number of source sites. Right hand pie charts = proportion of studies with known number of source sites that used single (dots) or multiple (lines) seed source sites.

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