Ecotypes: Considerations in Restoration
How important is it to use plants from local sources when working to restore damaged or compromised ecosystems? How is “local” defined? These were two of the questions that were explored in the afternoon session of the Economics and Ecotypes workshop put on by the Association of Florida Native Nurseries (AFNN) in Kissimmee last month. The University of Florida sent down a fleet of professors from their Consortium for Horticultural Application in Ecosystem Conservation . These passionate folks had some very interesting research to share as the crowd wrestled with both the ethical and the practical problems that restoration can pose. The Consortium works to provide science-based information to meet the needs of the native plant industry called in to supply the plants for restoration work. Dr. Carrie Reinhardt Adams lead off with an explanation of ecotypes. She noted that there can be distinct and separate genetic composition within a plant species resulting from adap...