Research Insights

This project, funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law – Burned Area Recovery (BIL-BAR), will support the national native seed collection program, Seeds of Success (SOS), in its efforts to develop native plant materials for stabilizing, rehabilitating, and restoring post-wildfire lands. The award establishes the U.S. Forest Service’s (USFS) National Seed Laboratory (NSL) in Dry Branch, Georgia as a designated SOS cleaning and storing facility for the eastern United States to support native seed and plant material restoration nation-wide, a critical need for post-wildfire recovery and habitat restoration. Additionally, the project will provide the essential tools to ground-truth existing seed exchange zones, ensuring that plant species genetics are protected while maximizing economic viability for native seed use in post-fire restoration, including rebuilding native plant communities, stabilizing soil, and ensuring long-term ecosystem health on federal, state, local, and private lands. Large-scale disturbances, such as wildfires, threaten plant communities and damage ecosystems; yet ecologically appropriate native seeds are not readily available for restoration after catastrophic disturbances. Native plant species, particularly those adapted to local conditions, are more effective in facilitating rapid landscape-scale recovery from hazardous wildfire events compared to non-native species. The National Seed Strategy (NSS), developed in cooperation with conservation land management organizations, aims to address this demand for native seed by providing coordination and a framework for building an adequate supply of native seeds. The mission of the NSS is to ensure the availability of genetically appropriate seed to restore viable and productive plant communities through the SOS program. Specifically, the intent of the NSS is to achieve the right seed in the right place at the right time. The investigators will address three goals of the NSS: 1) Identify seed needs and ensure the reliable availability of genetically appropriate seed; 2) Identify research needs and conduct research to provide genetically appropriate seed and to improve technology for native seed production and ecosystem restoration; and 3) Develop tools that enable managers to make timely, informed seeding decisions for ecological restoration.

Funder: U.S. Department of Interior

Amount: $2,077,971

PI: Jennifer Cruse-Sanders, Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Plant Biology