Eight generations of native seed cultivation reduces plant fitness relative to the wild progenitor population.

ABSTRACT: Native seed for restoration is in high demand, but widespread habitat degradation will likely prevent enough seed from being sustainably harvested from wild populations to meet this need. While propagation of native species has emerged in recent decades to address this resource gap, few studies have tested whether the processes of sampling from wild populations, followed by generations of farm cultivation, reduce plant fitness tolerance to stress over time. To test this, we grew the eighth generation of farm-propagated Clarkia pulchella Pursh (Onagraceae) alongside seeds from two of the three original wild source populations that established the native seed farm. To detect differences in stress tolerance, half of plants were subjected to a low-water treatment in the greenhouse. At t

SUBMITTER: Pizza R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8288025 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature