Seed Zones & Population Movement Guidelines: Concepts & Tools

For the 3rd ESZF webinar and discussion hour, Dr. Brad St. Clair, Research Geneticist with the Pacific Northwest Research Station, USDA Forest Service,  presents a general background on approaches to population movement options including fixed-boundary seed zones and floating-point seed movement guidelines.  The second part of his lecture will introduce the Seedlot Selection Tool (SST), a web-based mapping application designed to help natural resource managers match seedlots (seed collections from a known origin) with planting sites based on climatic information. The SST is an option for determining how to bulk seed collections for processing, storage and grow-out, and Dr. St. Clair will demonstrate how to use it to determine where to deploy seedlots including considering options for responding to concerns about climate change.  After the lecture, participants will share their own expertise and have further opportunities to get involved in the effort.