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Native Seed Scoop

2023 Spring Edition

New life is sprouting in the TPC greenhouse:

From left to right: white heath aster (Symphyotrichum ericoides), false boneset (Brickellia eupatorioides), and swamp lousewort (Pedicularis lanceolata, with sedge host), grown from seed we collected in remnant prairies in fall 2021 and 2022.

Upcoming Events

Native Seed Stakeholder Meeting – hosted by the TPC

• Wednesday, March 8, 2023, at UNI

• Registration is closed

• Videos of prepared talks will be shared on the TPC website once closed-captioning is complete

Prairie Preview - hosted by Bur Oak Land Trust

• Thursday, March 23, 4:30-7:00 pm at the Iowa City Senior Center

• Keynote by Connie Mutel, author of the new book Tending Iowa’s Land: Pathways to a Sustainable Future

National Native Seed Conference: Cultivating the Restoration Supply Chain

• Washington, DC

• March 27-30, 2023

• The TPC will be represented by Dr. Justin Meissen and Laura Walter

North American Prairie Conference

• Des Moines, IA

• June 26-29, 2023

• Abstract submissions due May 15

TPC’s Restoration and Land Management Seminar

• March 9, 4-pm, online (see image below)

• To register for this online presentation, click here.

What’s Your Scoop?

Have something to share with other native seed stakeholders? Send your news tips to laura.walter@uni.edu.

You can also join our native seed listserv to post news and questions directly to the group. Email laura.walter@uni.edu to join.

Online Resources for Native Seeds

Seed Information Database

The database with its updated user interface is now housed on the website of the Society for Ecological Restoration (SER)

TWS – Testing Wild Seeds project

“TWS is designed to help seed analysts find protocols for testing a wild species and thereby improve uniformity in testing between seed laboratories.” The development and sharing of new protocols is ongoing. Information regarding some seed test methodologies (germination, seed imaging) is provided. TWS Chair, Gil Waibel, is a past presenter at the Native Seed Stakeholder Meeting.

Propagation Protocol Database

The Native Plant Network hosts this resource and invites you to search for protocols for species of interest and submit protocols for species you have successfully grown.

CRP Signup

It’s that time again! General signup started February 27 and continues through April 7, 2023.

NASEM Report on Native Seed Supply

A committee of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine released the final report on their study of the national native seed supply chain in January 2023. A free pdf of the report can be downloaded at this link.

An article from Seed World summarizes key findings and recommendations from the NASEM report: New report shares concerns of insufficient native seeds.

A Scoop of Science

Vitt, P., et al. 2022. Seed sourcing strategies for ecological restoration under climate change: A review of the current literature. Frontiers in Conservation Science, October 6, 2022. Open access.

De Vitis, M., et al. 2022. Why are some plant species missing from restorations? A diagnostic tool for temperate grassland ecosystems. Frontiers in Conservation Science, October 24, 2022. Open access.

Note: if any of the links are not working, please email me.

A recent icestorm transformed the remaining seed stalks of some of our native prairie species. Did you recognize the prairie ironweed, Vernonia fasciculata, in this image?