Nursery-grown marsh grass genetically differs from wild local plants
Hughes AR, Caplins S, Cherukuri N, DuChaussee M, Garcia G
Native Plants
If you've ever donated to or volunteered with a coastal marsh restoration project, this explains why those replanted marshes often behave differently than the wild marsh next door, right down to which plants survive storms and droughts.
Scientists looked at two common salt marsh grasses, smooth cordgrass and salt meadow hay, and compared plants grown from local wild seed to plants bought from commercial nurseries. The nursery plants turned out to be genetically quite different from the wild populations they were supposed to represent, more different than the wild populations are from each other. Since genetic diversity affects how well plants handle stress and support the ecosystem, where you source your restoration plants from can quietly shape how well the whole marsh functions later.
Key Findings
Local wild populations of Spartina alterniflora and S. patens show weak but detectable genetic differentiation from each other.
Seedlings grown from local seed are more genetically differentiated from their source populations than the source populations are from one another.
Commercial nursery stock shows higher genetic diversity and is highly differentiated from both local wild populations and locally-grown seedlings.
chevron_right Technical Summary
Where restoration workers get their salt marsh grass seeds and seedlings from actually changes the genetic makeup of the plants that end up in restored marshes, especially when nursery-grown stock is used instead of local wild plants.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
Genetic Implications of Plant Sourcing Strategies for Salt Marsh Restoration.
Ecosystem restoration aims to recreate the ecological structure, processes, and function of a reference native ecosystem. The structure and composition of restored ecosystems often differ from natu...
open_in_new Read full abstractAbstract copyright held by the original publisher.
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Sporobolus alterniflorus, or synonymously known as Spartina alterniflora, the smooth cordgrass, saltmarsh cordgrass, or salt-water cordgrass, is a perennial deciduous grass which is found in intertidal wetlands, especially estuarine salt marshes. It has been reclassified as Sporobolus alterniflor...