Do restored subtropical rainforest communities capture the genetic diversity of their wild reference communities?
Creators: name: Cooper, Sally L
Publisher: name: Southern Cross University
Year: 2022
Subjects: Ecological restoration
Genetic diversity
Population differentiation
Inbreeding
Subtropical rainforest
Self-fertilisation
Seed provenance
Practitioner perspectives

description: After a history of extensive clearing, effort is being made to restore subtropical rainforest in North East New South Wales (NE NSW), Australia. However, limited genetic diversity and inbreeding can impede successful establishment and persistence of a population and there are concerns that current anthropogenic selection of seed sources for restoration sites may not capture sufficient genetic variation and an opportunity to create genetically diverse restored communities will be missed.
description: This research aimed to answer the following questions: Do restored rainforest communities in NE NSW capture the genetic diversity of their wild reference communities?; What are the perspectives and work practices of rainforest restoration practitioners with regards to genetic diversity?; and, How might practitioners’ perspectives and work practices be influencing genetic diversity and the long-term success of restored rainforest communities? In order to address these questions the research included two components: (1) An industry survey of rainforest restoration practitioners in NE NSW and South East Queensland (SEQ); and (2) Genetic analysis of three rainforest tree species to compare molecular genetic diversity and measure genetic differentiation between restored and wild communities in the Tweed Caldera and the Big Scrub regions of NE NSW.
description: Results of the industry survey suggest that whilst genetic diversity and local provenancing are concepts of importance to practitioners, there is a lack of clarity in how to define local provenance and the interrelationship between local provenancing and genetic diversity. Despite the limitations of local provenancing, especially in highly fragmented landscapes, it remains the preferred strategy amongst practitioners and inclusion of non-local seed is not regarded as an effective means of improving genetic diversity.
description: Genetic analysis of the three tree species from two regions was conducted using SSR markers. Lower allelic diversity of the restored populations was observed but was not statistically significant when compared to wild populations. Small but significant genetic differentiation between restored and wild populations was detected for some comparisons while no genetic differentiation was found between the two sample regions. There is evidence of inbred stock being deployed in some restoration projects.
description: Based on the three subtropical rainforest tree species targeted in this research and using neutral DNA markers, restored communities possess similar genetic diversity to their wild reference populations in NE NSW. This is likely due to informed practitioner perspectives and work practices, multiple introductions and apparently high genetic diversity and low genetic differentiation within the source populations of these species.
description: e, genetic diversity, population differentiation, inbreeding, subtropical rainforest, self-fertilisation, seed provenance, practitioner perspectives