Genetic considerations in ecosystem restoration using native tree species

Rehabilitation and restoration of forest ecosystems are in growing demand to tackle climate change, biodiversity loss and desertification—major environmental problems of our time. Interest in restoration of ecosystems is increasingly translated into strong political commitment to large-scale tree pl...

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Autores principales: Thomas, E., Jalonen, R., Loo, J., Boshier, D., Gallo, L., Cavers, S., Bordacs, S., Smith, Pete, Bozzano, M.
Formato: Journal Article
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: Elsevier 2014
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/66033
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author Thomas, E.
Jalonen, R.
Loo, J.
Boshier, D.
Gallo, L.
Cavers, S.
Bordacs, S.
Smith, Pete
Bozzano, M.
author_browse Bordacs, S.
Boshier, D.
Bozzano, M.
Cavers, S.
Gallo, L.
Jalonen, R.
Loo, J.
Smith, Pete
Thomas, E.
author_facet Thomas, E.
Jalonen, R.
Loo, J.
Boshier, D.
Gallo, L.
Cavers, S.
Bordacs, S.
Smith, Pete
Bozzano, M.
author_sort Thomas, E.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Rehabilitation and restoration of forest ecosystems are in growing demand to tackle climate change, biodiversity loss and desertification—major environmental problems of our time. Interest in restoration of ecosystems is increasingly translated into strong political commitment to large-scale tree planting projects. Along with this new impetus and the enormous scale of planned projects come both opportunities and risks: opportunities to significantly increase the use of native species, and risks of failure associated with the use of inadequate or mismatched reproductive material, which though it may provide forest cover in the short term, will not likely establish a self-sustaining ecosystem. The value of using native tree species in ecosystem restoration is receiving growing recognition both among restoration practitioners and policy makers. However, insufficient attention has been given to genetic variation within and among native tree species, their life histories and the consequences of their interactions with each other and with their environment. Also restoration practitioners have often neglected to build in safeguards against the anticipated effects of anthropogenic climate change. Measurement of restoration success has tended to be assessments of hectares covered or seedling survival in a short timeframe, neither of which is an indicator of ecosystem establishment in the long term. In this article, we review current practices in ecosystem restoration using native tree species, with a particular focus on genetic considerations. Our discussion is organised across three themes: (i) species selection and the sourcing of forest reproductive material; (ii) increasing resilience by fostering natural selection, ecological connectivity and species associations; and (iii) measuring the success of restoration activities. We present a number of practical recommendations for researchers, policymakers and restoration practitioners to increase the potential for successful interventions. We recommend the development and adoption of decision-support tools for: (i) collecting and propagating germplasm in a way that ensures a broad genetic base of restored tree populations, including planning the sourcing of propagation material of desired species well before the intended planting time; (ii) matching species and provenances to restoration sites based on current and future site conditions, predicted or known patterns of variation in adaptive traits and availability of seed sources; and (iii) landscape-level planning in restoration projects.
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spelling CGSpace660332025-11-12T05:46:04Z Genetic considerations in ecosystem restoration using native tree species Thomas, E. Jalonen, R. Loo, J. Boshier, D. Gallo, L. Cavers, S. Bordacs, S. Smith, Pete Bozzano, M. biodiversity ecosystems indigenous organisms planting stock reclamation species trees Rehabilitation and restoration of forest ecosystems are in growing demand to tackle climate change, biodiversity loss and desertification—major environmental problems of our time. Interest in restoration of ecosystems is increasingly translated into strong political commitment to large-scale tree planting projects. Along with this new impetus and the enormous scale of planned projects come both opportunities and risks: opportunities to significantly increase the use of native species, and risks of failure associated with the use of inadequate or mismatched reproductive material, which though it may provide forest cover in the short term, will not likely establish a self-sustaining ecosystem. The value of using native tree species in ecosystem restoration is receiving growing recognition both among restoration practitioners and policy makers. However, insufficient attention has been given to genetic variation within and among native tree species, their life histories and the consequences of their interactions with each other and with their environment. Also restoration practitioners have often neglected to build in safeguards against the anticipated effects of anthropogenic climate change. Measurement of restoration success has tended to be assessments of hectares covered or seedling survival in a short timeframe, neither of which is an indicator of ecosystem establishment in the long term. In this article, we review current practices in ecosystem restoration using native tree species, with a particular focus on genetic considerations. Our discussion is organised across three themes: (i) species selection and the sourcing of forest reproductive material; (ii) increasing resilience by fostering natural selection, ecological connectivity and species associations; and (iii) measuring the success of restoration activities. We present a number of practical recommendations for researchers, policymakers and restoration practitioners to increase the potential for successful interventions. We recommend the development and adoption of decision-support tools for: (i) collecting and propagating germplasm in a way that ensures a broad genetic base of restored tree populations, including planning the sourcing of propagation material of desired species well before the intended planting time; (ii) matching species and provenances to restoration sites based on current and future site conditions, predicted or known patterns of variation in adaptive traits and availability of seed sources; and (iii) landscape-level planning in restoration projects. 2014-12 2015-05-13T13:59:47Z 2015-05-13T13:59:47Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/66033 en Open Access application/pdf Elsevier Thomas, E.; Jalonen, R.; Loo, J.; Boshier, D.; Gallo, L.; Cavers, S.; Bordacs, S.; Smith, P.; Bozzano, M. -2014-Genetic considerations in ecosystem restoration using native tree species-Forest Ecology and Management 333-p. 66-75
spellingShingle biodiversity
ecosystems
indigenous organisms
planting stock
reclamation
species
trees
Thomas, E.
Jalonen, R.
Loo, J.
Boshier, D.
Gallo, L.
Cavers, S.
Bordacs, S.
Smith, Pete
Bozzano, M.
Genetic considerations in ecosystem restoration using native tree species
title Genetic considerations in ecosystem restoration using native tree species
title_full Genetic considerations in ecosystem restoration using native tree species
title_fullStr Genetic considerations in ecosystem restoration using native tree species
title_full_unstemmed Genetic considerations in ecosystem restoration using native tree species
title_short Genetic considerations in ecosystem restoration using native tree species
title_sort genetic considerations in ecosystem restoration using native tree species
topic biodiversity
ecosystems
indigenous organisms
planting stock
reclamation
species
trees
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/66033
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