Seedwhere: a computer tool to support seed transfer and ecological restoration decisions

It is generally recognized that plants are genetically adapted to prevailing climate. However, there are very few genecological studies that quantify these relationships. Planting stock is often moved across environmental gradients with little knowledge of the ecological risks. For long-lived species (e.g. forest trees) this introduces risks of increased mortality, lowered potential growth rates, and increased susceptibility to insects and diseases. Seedwhere is a computer-based tool to support decisions on moving plant material across environmental gradients. The Gower similarity metric has been invoked as an Avenue extension in the ARCVIEW Geographic Information System. The program can be used to map the similarity of potential seed collection sites across large regions. Considerable effort has gone into developing the required GIS database for the Great Lakes region of North America. Such data are becoming increasingly available in many parts of the world. Some example applications of Seedwhere are provided for the Great Lakes region. While no panacea for this complex and large problem, the seedwhere tool provides a quantitative approach to visualizing the issue that should help resource managers.