The eco-evolutionary risks of not changing seed provenancing practices
in changing environments
Abstract
Rapidly changing environments combined with increasing global
restoration initiatives require improved seed sourcing strategies for
native revegetation. Sourcing seed from local populations (local
provenancing) has been the long-standing default for native revegetation
for numerous eco-evolutionary reasons including local adaptation and
species co-evolution. However, the evidence-base has shifted, revealing
risks for both non-local and local provenancing in changing
environments. As alternative strategies gain interest, we argue for
effective decision-making that weighs the risks of changing and not
changing seed sourcing strategies in a changing environment that
transcends a default position and the polarising local vs. non-local
debate.