Protecting California’s Diversity: Genetic Considerations for Native Planting and Restoration

A one-day, online symposium hosted by CNPS
Friday, October 16, 2020

Recorded sessions here – Live

California is home to some of the most exceptional and threatened plant diversity in the world. In an attempt to protect and restore California natives from the devastating effects of environmental change and human development, major initiatives have been implemented to increase the use of California native plants everywhere from home gardens to industrial-scale plantings for landscaping and restoration. However, when executed without the necessary considerations, these efforts have the potential to further endanger our flora by disrupting the genetic integrity of unique species, ecotypes, and populations.

In order to address this issue, the California Native Plant Society (CNPS) is hosting this virtual, day-long symposium with the goal of bringing together leading experts in the biology, conservation, and management of the California flora to review the best available science on the genetic risks associated with moving native plants and explore innovative approaches for addressing these issues from a management perspective.

Speakers (PDF)
Abstracts (PDF)

Symposium Agenda

Time Description
10:00 am Welcome, Opening Remarks. Recordings of all sessions available here
Andrea Williams
10:07 am Introduction
Speaker: Brent Mishler
Why an evolutionary view of biodiversity matters
Speaker: Bruce Baldwin
Recognition and conservation of cryptic diversity in the California flora
10:30 am Local Variation and Cryptic Diversity
Speaker: Leigh Johnson
Population-level sampling illuminates near-cryptic species diversity in Navarretia (Polemoniaceae)
Speaker: Justen Whittall
Two cryptic species of California mustard within Caulanthus lasiophyllus
Speaker: Kyle Christie
Look again: Hidden diversity in California jewelflowers
Speaker: Shannon Still
Poppy puzzles: Clarifying a couple cryptics
11:15 am Break
11:25 am Moving and Mixing
Speaker: Robert Steers
Monterey pine colonization in northern California: implications for species introductions in a changing climate
Speaker: Patricia Maloney
Amplifying within-population resilience to drought and disease in the Lake Tahoe Basin
Speaker: Kristina Schierenbeck
The genetic consequences of hybridization between California native plant species with closely related taxa
Speaker: Jessica Wright
Lessons from provenance tests- real trees on the ground
12:05 pm Lunch (Can keep Zoom open to return at 1:15pm)
1:15 pm Afternoon instructions
1:30 pm Sessions
Session A: Considerations for Rare Plants |  Zoom Link
Meeting ID: 928 1131 0492 Passcode: 470318
Speaker: Michele Dudash
Consideration of a paradigm shift in the genetic management of fragmented populations
Speaker: Amy Vandergast
Regional genetic distinctiveness among remaining populations of an endangered salt marsh plant in California and conservation strategies
~ 10 min Break ~
Speaker: Andrea Kramer
Considerations when mixing source populations to restore rare plants
Speaker: Loraine Washburn
The ghosts of translocations past, present, and yet to come: Applying inexact molecular tools to rare plants on shifting landscapes
Questions/discussion with the panel
Will return to the main session at 3:30 pm by using your registration link provided by email

In main webinar
Session B: Scaling up: Seed Collection, Increase and Transfer
Speaker: Stu Weiss
Topoclimatic variability and seed collection strategies
Speaker: Patrick Reynolds
Production of native seed of known genetic origin at Hedgerow Farms
Speaker: Dan Shyrock
A landscape genomics framework for native plant restoration in the Mojave Desert
~ 10 min Break ~
Speaker: Jim Thorne
Vegetation refugia and climate-adaptive land management
Speaker: Peggy Olwell
The right seed in the right place at the right time: National Seed Strategy & Seeds of Success
Questions/discussion with the panel
3:00 pm Break
3:30 pm Closing Panel Session: Bringing It All Together
4:30 pm Adjourn