RICHMOND, Va. -- In 2023, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine raised concerns that there weren't enough native seeds to restore damaged U.S. lands. But now a project led by a team of Virginia Tech researchers aims to fix just that.
Researchers, according to the university, want to replenish and maintain a sustainable pipeline of native seeds for the southern portion of Virginia.
They hope that underserved farmers from the region will also lend them a hand in the efforts. The project is backed by a grant of nearly $700,000 from the Natural Resources Conservation Service's Equal Conservation Opportunities program. That program, "aims to expand conservation assistance to farmers who are new to farming, low income, socially disadvantaged, or military veterans," according to Virginia Tech.
“We have a great opportunity here to conserve Southside’s unique natural heritage while also facilitating new economic opportunities for historically underserved farmers and making new discoveries in applied ecology,” said J. Leighton Reid, an assistant professor of ecological restoration in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
Virginia Tech says that the team will work to identify shortfalls in seed availablity and the economic barriers facing Southside farmers in getting native seeds. "They also plan to partner with historically underserved Southside producers to create a native seed demonstration area at the Southern Piedmont Agricultural Research and Extension Center," the university explained.
Experts say that native seeds are an important step in sustaining the health of natural ecosystems saying, "They have evolved with the local climates, soils, and other organisms and are better integrated into their environment than non-native species from other regions."
Another problem with a lack of native seeds is a lack of food for local wildlife. The project's lead J. Leighton Reid explains, "The problem with non-native plants, like tall fescue grass, is that they do not have long, coevolutionary histories with our native animals. As a result, most non-native plants are inedible to our native insects. One entomologist refers to non-native plants as ‘ecological plastic’ for this reason.”
If the team is successful in building a native seed pipeline, its members hope to expand the project and contribute to the federal Seeds of Success program — a national seed collection program led by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management to address the need for native plant materials across the country.
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