Australian native seed sector practice and behavior could limit ecological restoration success: further insights from the Australian Native Seed Report

Abstract

The Australian native seed sector is critical for undertaking ecological restoration but faces serious challenges from interacting factors, including native vegetation loss and habitat fragmentation, low funding levels, and climate change impacts. The Australian Native Seed Survey was conducted in 2016–2017 to better understand sector structure, practitioner perceptions, and practice. It found that most native seed is collected from small and fragmented tenures and from geographic ranges that greatly exceed “local provenance”; that the diversity of species available for restoration is typically low; that native seed is seldom quality tested; and that most annual seed collections (wild or production) are small in volume suggesting overall seed yields are modest in quantity and not sufficient to support large-scale restoration. Together, survey findings raise serious concerns about the ability of the sector, as currently constituted and resourced, to meet projected future increases in the demand for seed or for achieving the effectiveness and efficiency required to meet UN-Decade type ecological restoration outcomes. Central to recommendations for sector improvement are the following focus areas: maturing the native seed sector; sustainability; seed production; licensing; seed testing and tracking; and research.