Journal
EVOLUTIONARY APPLICATIONS
Volume 11, Issue 10, Pages 2025-2039Publisher
WILEY
DOI: 10.1111/eva.12704
Keywords
bluebunch wheatgrass; commercial germplasm; cultivar; fastsimcoal; Great Basin; Intermountain West; Last Glacial Maximum; Pseudoroegneria spicata
Categories
Funding
- USDA Forest Service
- Rocky Mountain Research Station
- Great Basin Native Plant Project
- Colorado Plateau Native Plant Program
- USDI Bureau of Land Management
Ask authors/readers for more resources
A species' population structure and history are critical pieces of information that can help guide the use of available native plant materials in restoration treatments and decide what new native plant materials should be developed to meet future restoration needs. In the western United States, Pseudoroegneria spicata (bluebunch wheatgrass; Poaceae) is an important component of grassland and shrubland plant communities and commonly used for restoration due to its drought resistance and competitiveness with exotic weeds. We used next-generation sequencing data to investigate the processes that shaped P. spicata's geographic pattern of genetic variation across the Intermountain West. Pseudoroegneria spicata's genetic diversity is partitioned into populations that likely differentiated since the Last Glacial Maximum. Adjacent populations display varying magnitudes of historical gene flow, with migration rates ranging from multiple migrants per generation to multiple generations per migrant. When considering the commercial germplasm sources available for restoration, genetic identities remain representative of the wildland localities from which germplasm sources were originally developed, and they maintain high levels of heterozygosity and nucleotide diversity. However, the commercial germplasm sources represent a small fraction of the overall genetic diversity of P. spicata in the Intermountain West. Given the low migration rates and long divergence times between some pairs of P. spicata populations, using commercial germplasm sources could facilitate undesirable restoration outcomes when used in certain geographic areas, even if the environment in which the commercial materials thrive is similar to that of the restoration site. As such, population structure and history can be used to provide guidance on what geographic areas may need additional native plant materials so that restoration efforts support species and community resilience and improve outcomes.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available