Increase genetic diversity of seed mixes within appropriate seed transfer zones

Mixing seeds from diverse populations within the same region as the target planting site mimics natural gene flow which is otherwise limited due to habitat fragmentation or loss. This enhances population fitness and adaptive capacity by increasing genetic diversity, while avoiding the risks of outbreeding depression, maladaptation, and aggressive genotypes associated with longer distance introductions. Delineating seed transfer zones is a vital consideration when applying this approach and may require analysis of individual species and their genetic variability within discrete regions. Species that disperse pollen and propagules at long-distances (e.g., those that are wind-pollinated or -dispersed) will likely support larger seed zones than short-distance dispersers.

This strategy seeks to enable transitions of communities to new desirable states through shifts in plant species composition while maintaining or producing desired wetland functions. Climate change may drive major alterations in wetland plant community composition and net primary productivity, as well as geographic shifts of some wetland types. Climate parameters are changing at a rapid and unprecedented pace, setting up conditions where local plants may no longer be ideally suited to local conditions. Habitat fragmentation and isolation further reduce the fitness and adaptive capacity of plant populations by causing reduced gene flow and inbreeding recession. For native wetland species that are already rare, these threats may render populations vulnerable to extirpation or extinction, forcing consideration of drastic measures such as assisted migration. Managers may determine that resisting such threats and changes is not feasible at some sites, and that managing for a range of acceptable trajectories is more practicable; monitoring outcomes and periodically re-evaluating restoration targets is essential when uncertainty is high.