Radicle Restoration: Growing Native Plant Seedlings for Changing Landscapes

Radicle Restoration: Growing Native Plant Seedlings for Changing Landscapes

Presenter(s)

Madelyn Moore

Comments

1:00-1:20, Kennedy Union 211

Description

In the wake of great anthropogenic change in the landscape across eastern North America, there is a need for ecological restoration. Forests, in particular, are struggling due to the decline of previously dominant tree species and the need to protect the understory from persistent invasion. Forests cannot follow the typical path of natural development through secondary succession due to the interference of invasive species. Invasive species thrive in disturbed habitats, and they have a variety of adaptations that allow them to outcompete native species. Invasive species removal alone leads to their return to previously invaded sites. Instead, invasive removal should be coupled with native planting, and some of these natives can take niche spaces and provide resistance to reinvasion. To give native species as much advantage over invasive species as possible, high amounts of care should be taken in the production of saplings for restoration. Collecting localized seeds ensures that the saplings will be adapted to soil and weather conditions similar to those of the restoration site. Potted saplings with straight, healthy root systems perform better than bare-root saplings under transplant stress. With these ideas in mind, the goal of this project is to start up a native sapling repository for key woody species for use in future restoration projects. This project is based in Ginny’s Garden Greenhouse at the University of Dayton and involves seed collection, germination, and sapling management for a variety of native woody species. Some species include oaks (Quercus), buckeyes (Aesculus), hickories (Carya), spicebush (Lindera benzoin), paw paw (Asimina triloba), and flowering dogwood (Cornus florida). Over one hundred seedlings have been germinated since the project's inception, and over two thousand seeds have been collected for the advancement of this project. Outplanting for the project will begin in the spring of 2025.

Publication Date

4-23-2025

Project Designation

Honors Thesis

Primary Advisor

Ryan W. McEwan

Primary Advisor's Department

Biology

Keywords

Stander Symposium, College of Arts and Sciences

Institutional Learning Goals

Scholarship; Critical Evaluation of Our Times

Radicle Restoration: Growing Native Plant Seedlings for Changing Landscapes

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