TY - JOUR

T1 - Assessment of genetic diversity among seed transfer zones for multiple grassland plant species across Germany

AU - Durka, Walter

AU - Michalski, Stefan G.

AU - Höfner, Johannes

AU - Bucharova, Anna

AU - Kolář, Filip

AU - Müller, Christina M.

AU - Oberprieler, Christoph

AU - Šemberová, Kristýna

AU - Bauer, Markus

AU - Bernt, Matthias

AU - Bleeker, Walter

AU - Brändel, Stefan

AU - Bucher, Solveig Franziska

AU - Eibes, Pia Maria

AU - Ewald, Michael

AU - Goldberg, Ronny

AU - Grant, Kerstin

AU - Haider, Sylvia

AU - Harpke, Alexander

AU - Haun, Friedhelm

AU - Kaufmann, Rico

AU - Korell, Lotte

AU - Kunzmann, Dierk

AU - Lauterbach, Daniel

AU - Leib, Simon

AU - Lenzewski, Nikola

AU - Loritz, Holger

AU - Madaj, Anna Maria

AU - Mainz, Ann Kareen

AU - Meinecke, Philipp

AU - Mertens, Hanna

AU - Meyer, Maren H.

AU - Musche, Martin

AU - Ristow, Michael

AU - Rosche, Christoph

AU - Roscher, Christiane

AU - Rutte, Daniel

AU - Schacherer, Annemarie

AU - Schmidt, Wolfgang

AU - Schmoldt, Joraine

AU - Schneider, Simone

AU - Schwarz, Jan Hinnerk

AU - Skowronek, Sandra

AU - Socher, Stephanie A.

AU - Stanik, Nils

AU - Twerski, Alina

AU - Weiß, Karin

AU - Weiß, Martin

AU - Wille, Alexander

AU - Zehm, Andreas

AU - Zidorn, Christian

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2024 The Author(s)

PY - 2025/5

Y1 - 2025/5

N2 - Species diversity and intraspecific genetic diversity play a critical role in conservation and restoration of grassland ecosystems. To maintain regional adaptations of native wild plants, seeds for restoration projects are produced regionally. The delineation of regions is organised by seed transfer zones (STZs). Generalised STZs that apply uniformly to many species have been established in several European countries. Ideally, generalised STZs should be based on comprehensive data of intraspecific genetic and phenotypic diversity for a larger number of species. However, such underlying data is missing. The project RegioDiv aims to fill this gap and generate empirical data on genetic variation of multiple grassland plant species across Germany. Here we describe the driving principles and main methods of the project. A total of 33 species were collected at an average density of ∼1 sample/1000 km2 across the 22 existing STZs, and a total of 11,976 samples were genotyped with SNP markers. The analysis of genetic population structure included cluster analysis and analyses of isolation-by-distance and isolation-by-environment. An exemplary within-species analysis for Agrostis capillaris, a widespread grass, revealed five intraspecific genetic clusters, distributed in spatially coherent ranges that did not fully match the STZs. Most of the STZs differed genetically following a pattern of isolation-by-distance and isolation-by-environment. In an across-species analysis, genetic differentiation was affected by mating system and ploidy. Outcrossed and polyploid species were less differentiated than self-compatible and diploid species. However, genetic differentiation did not significantly differ between grasses and herbs, highlighting the variability among species within these groups. The dataset of the RegioDiv project will advance both basic and applied research on genetic variation of grassland plant species. The results will allow the assessment of the current German STZ system and guide potential improvements.

AB - Species diversity and intraspecific genetic diversity play a critical role in conservation and restoration of grassland ecosystems. To maintain regional adaptations of native wild plants, seeds for restoration projects are produced regionally. The delineation of regions is organised by seed transfer zones (STZs). Generalised STZs that apply uniformly to many species have been established in several European countries. Ideally, generalised STZs should be based on comprehensive data of intraspecific genetic and phenotypic diversity for a larger number of species. However, such underlying data is missing. The project RegioDiv aims to fill this gap and generate empirical data on genetic variation of multiple grassland plant species across Germany. Here we describe the driving principles and main methods of the project. A total of 33 species were collected at an average density of ∼1 sample/1000 km2 across the 22 existing STZs, and a total of 11,976 samples were genotyped with SNP markers. The analysis of genetic population structure included cluster analysis and analyses of isolation-by-distance and isolation-by-environment. An exemplary within-species analysis for Agrostis capillaris, a widespread grass, revealed five intraspecific genetic clusters, distributed in spatially coherent ranges that did not fully match the STZs. Most of the STZs differed genetically following a pattern of isolation-by-distance and isolation-by-environment. In an across-species analysis, genetic differentiation was affected by mating system and ploidy. Outcrossed and polyploid species were less differentiated than self-compatible and diploid species. However, genetic differentiation did not significantly differ between grasses and herbs, highlighting the variability among species within these groups. The dataset of the RegioDiv project will advance both basic and applied research on genetic variation of grassland plant species. The results will allow the assessment of the current German STZ system and guide potential improvements.

KW - Genetic differentiation

KW - Genetic variation

KW - Grassland restoration

KW - Population genomics

KW - RegioDiv

KW - Seed transfer zone (STZ)

KW - SNP genotyping

KW - Ecosystems Research

KW - Biology

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85218903237&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.baae.2024.11.004

DO - 10.1016/j.baae.2024.11.004

M3 - Journal articles

AN - SCOPUS:85218903237

VL - 84

SP - 50

EP - 60

JO - Basic and Applied Ecology

JF - Basic and Applied Ecology

SN - 1439-1791

ER -