Seeding resilient restoration: An indicator system for the analysis of tree seed systems

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Achieving multi-million-hectare commitments from countries around the world to restore
degraded lands in resilient and sustainable ways requires, among other things, huge volumes of tree
planting material. Seed systems encompassing all forest reproductive material (e.g., seeds, cuttings,
stakes, and wildings), are key to ensuring that sufficient planting material with a diverse range of
suitable species, adapted to local conditions and capable of persisting under a changing climate, is
available for restoration projects.

The ideal structure of a seed system integrates five components:
seed selection and innovation, seed harvesting and production, market access, supply and demand,
quality control, and an enabling environment. We propose 15 indicators to evaluate these key
components and trial them by assessing national seed systems in 7 Latin American countries. We
conclude that the indicators enable a straightforward assessment of the strengths and weaknesses
of national seed systems, thus assisting governments to identify key areas for improvement and
opportunities for horizontal learning.

Atkinson, Rachel J.; Thomas, Evert; Roscioli, Federico; Cornelius, Jonathan P.; Zamora-Cristales, Rene; Franco Chuaire, Maria; Alcázar, Carolina; Mesén, Francisco; Lopez, Hariet; Ipinza, Roberto; Donoso, Pablo J.; Gallo, Leonardo; Nieto, Victor; Ugarte, Julio; Sáenz-Romero, Cuauhtémoc; Fremout, Tobias; Jalonen, Riina; Gaisberger, Hannes; Vinceti, Barbara; Valette, Michel; Bosshard, Ennia; Ekué, Marius; Wiederkehr Guerra, Gabriela; Kettle, Chris.

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