EM 8885-E • November 2006

Selecting
native plant materials
for restoration projects
Ensuring local adaptation
and maintaining genetic diversity

Lynn Ketchum
B. Withrow-Robinson and R. Johnson

S electing appropriate plant materials for

restoration projects contributes to the
success of the project by ensuring better
adaptation and survival of the plants. “Appropri-
ate” means choosing species that are suitable for
the site, are grown from locally adapted sources,
and have a solid genetic composition.
The purpose of this publication is to help restora-
tion managers ask and respond to two important
questions:
1. Where should our plants come from; or, more
specifically, what are the appropriate sources of
origin for the plants to be used in our project?
2. Are we maintaining adequate genetic diversity
This publication is for people involved in the in the plant materials we introduce?
important task of rehabilitating and restoring
In this publication, we describe important con-
Oregon’s threatened or degraded habitats. Grow-
cepts, such as source of origin, and management
ing numbers of private landowners, local organiza-
mechanisms, such as transfer guidelines. (Terms in
tions, and government entities are embarking on
bold are in the glossary, page 9.) Other commonly
projects to restore the health or function of their
used terms such as “native” and “local” have vague
riparian areas, wetlands, prairies, savannas, and
or imprecise meanings and are discussed in the
other habitats. Choosing the right plants is critical
context of plant selection.
to the long-term success of these projects, but it is
not always as straightforward as it seems. Manag- Although plant material selection is an important
ers often lack a strong background in genetics and step in restoration planning and implementation,
may be confused by competing (and sometimes it is but one part of the larger process that begins
conflicting) claims when collecting or buying with defining restoration objectives and consider-
seeds, seedlings, or other plant materials. ing the existing site conditions. This publication
touches only briefly on these topics.
Note: This publication does not apply to the conser-
vation of rare or endangered species, for which the
genetic considerations are much more specific.
Brad Withrow-Robinson, Extension forester for Polk,
Marion, and Yamhill counties, Oregon State
University; and Randy Johnson, research geneticist,
USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research
Station, Corvallis, OR.
 Setting objectives Figure 1.—The
source of origin of
Restoration can be a long and complicated process. plant material is
the geographic area
Success depends not only on selecting the appro- where the seeds or
priate species and right plant materials but also cuttings were col-
on identifying clear and realistic objectives for the lected originally.

Lynn Ketchum
site. Aiming to restore a highly disturbed site to a
“pristine,” “natural,” or even “historic” condition
may be an appealing goal, but it’s often beyond the
reach of most projects. It is more practical to think Plant materials’
in terms of restoring specific ecological functions
and then working to establish the vegetation that source of origin
will create conditions that provide those functions. It is important to know the source of origin of
For example: plant materials; that is, the geographic area where
the seeds or cuttings were collected originally. This
Target ecological function Strategy is not to be confused with the place where the
Increase the amount of shade Plant trees along plants were grown or propagated (such as a nurs-
or shelter on a stream the bank ery). The source of origin tells something about
Provide tree cavities for Create snags the genetic background of the plant materials and
nesting structures that can help inform managers on how well adapted
certain birds need this material may be for the restoration site. The
Provide food sources Maintain specific location of the nursery does not tell this. Choos-
for a particular insect host plants ing plants from a known and appropriate source
of origin can help ensure better long-term adapta-
By identifying restoration objectives first, it tion to local conditions. But what makes a source
becomes easier to select the appropriate plant spe- appropriate, and how does a manager find materi-
cies to fulfill the desired ecological functions. Man- als from that source?
agers also need to consider the conditions of the
site—such as soil type and drainage, elevation, dis- Experience from tree-planting projects has demon-
turbance patterns, and weeds and other competing strated that a project can fail if it uses seed or seed-
vegetation—which are important factors in choos- lings that were gathered from trees growing too
ing plants species that will perform well on the far away from the project site where they finally
site. The planting decision also will reflect choices were planted. The trees introduced to the project
among different plant materials: seeds, cuttings, or site were not well adapted to their new home.
seedlings, and even the type of seedlings. Now, managers have various methods to guide
transfer of forest tree materials from place to place,
Many local resources are available to help manag- but guidelines are lacking for most native grasses,
ers choose plant species and materials suited to a forbs, and shrubs used in restoration activities. As
restoration site and the objectives there. County a result, it is quite easy for plants of inappropriate
offices of the Oregon State University Extension or unknown origin to be sold and planted in local
Service and local offices of the county Soil and restoration projects, even though the plants are
Water Conservation District (SWCD), the USDA identified as “native.” This should cause concern
Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), among managers.
and local chapters of the Native Plant Society of
Oregon can provide helpful information (see “For
more information,” page 9). So what is “native”?
Beyond deciding what species to plant, or even Although frequently used, “native” is not very pre-
what plant material to use, it is important for cisely defined, and the term means different things
restoration managers to consider the genetics of to different people. It commonly is used to mean
the plant materials they are collecting or buying. those species that were in a place (e.g., Oregon)
This ultimately may determine the success of the before European settlement introduced plants
project. from distant areas. But native does not

 Selecting native plant materials for restoration projects

necessarily mean local. Many natives, including Hood would not be expected to adapt well to
trees and shrubs common in riparian communi- the Coos Bay area, even if the species grows in
ties, are widely distributed across western North both locations; the climates and soils to which
America. Familiar native Oregon trees such as the local populations have adapted are very dif-
Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii), ponderosa pine ferent. This principle has been illustrated through
(Pinus ponderosa), western white pine (Pinus mon- decades of experience with forest tree species in
ticola), Oregon white oak (Quercus garryana), and the United States and Europe. A local illustration
black cottonwood (Populus trichocarpa) all have of the importance of using local seed sources was
ranges from Canada to Mexico and, in some cases, the replanting of the Tillamook Burn (Figure 2).
from the Pacific to beyond the Rocky Mountains. Trees from more distant sources, such as the east
Many herbaceous plants, such as yarrow (Achillea slopes of the Cascades, did not perform as well in
millefolium) also have very broad distributions. the moist, coastal mountains of Tillamook as trees
Each is native to and survives in a wide range of from nearer seed sources, such as the Mount Hebo
conditions across a broad landscape in and beyond area. This and other experiences in forestry indi-
Oregon. This is possible because populations of cate the importance of paying strict attention to
each species have adapted to local conditions, source of origin when planting native materials in
which vary with elevation, latitude, rainfall, tem- restoration activities!
perature, and much more. That is not to say that
every member of that species will thrive or even
survive in all those places. Again, native does not
necessarily mean local. Identifying “locally
adapted” plant materials
So what is “local”? Once managers recognize the need to use native
If native does not mean local, how does one species of local origin, an important question
define local? The scholarly literature has many becomes “How far can a plant be moved and still,
articles asking the question “How local is local?” in its new location, behave like a local?” To help
Unfortunately there is no simple definition that answer the question, geneticists developed transfer
applies to all species, but scientists do know that guidelines. A common kind of transfer guideline
non-local kin often are not as well adapted as local is the U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardi-
populations. For example, plants from Mount ness zone map. Many gardeners rely on this map,
based on winter minimum temperatures,
to guide their selection of plants that can
grow successfully in their area.

Transfer guidelines
It would be nice if there were a consis-
tent distance, some magic number (say,
within a 50-mile radius), to indicate
how far a plant might be moved suc-
cessfully, but it is not that simple. For
plants, “local” is best defined ecologi-
cally, in terms of climate and environ-
ment, rather than in miles. For example,
the environments of Coos Bay and
Astoria (200 miles apart) are much more
similar than the environments of Coos
Figure 2.—Replanting the Tillamook Burn illustrated the importance Bay and Roseburg (just 50 miles apart).
of using local seed sources. Trees from more distant sources did not The conditions to which a plant species
do as well as trees from nearer seed sources. Photo courtesy of Oregon
Department of Forestry Tillamook Forest Center.
must adapt (and what make Coos Bay

Selecting native plant materials for restoration projects 

 more similar to Astoria than garden studies, provenance trials, and computer
Roseburg) include rainfall, sum- models. Guidelines so far have been developed for
mer and winter temperatures, only a small number of native plants in Oregon,
soil drainage, and soil pH. primarily forest trees, although work is now under-
way on important herbaceous species such as
Another issue is that the scope of Roemer’s fescue (Festuca roemeri) and blue wildrye
adaptation varies greatly among (Elymus glaucus).
species. Some plants (called site
generalists) can be moved much
farther than others (called site Seed zones
specialists) and still adapt well The seed zone is a common type of transfer guide-
to local conditions and regions. line that managers use to identify appropriate
This is illustrated in Figure 3, sources of plant materials. A seed zone is an area
which shows seed zones devel- with fixed boundaries on a map, within which
oped for two important native plant materials can be transferred with little risk
tree species, western redcedar of adapting poorly to their new location. Figure 3
(Thuja plicata, a site generalist) shows seed zones for Douglas-fir and western red-
and Douglas-fir (a site specialist). cedar. These zones represent areas of fairly uniform
Thus, transfer guidelines vary environmental conditions, and, more important,
from species to species and from they identify areas where individuals in a given
region to region. species behave similarly. In mountainous regions,
each zone is subdivided further with elevation
Much of the available litera- bands to better define areas with similar condi-
ture on seed source movement tions. Research and experience have shown that
focuses on trees because more a 1,000‑foot difference in elevation can be more
research has examined transfer- important to adaptation than 100 miles of hori-
ring timber species, but the zontal distance.
principles are valid for most
plants. Developing useful trans- Seed zone maps are not perfect indicators—site
Figure 3.—Seed zone maps of Oregon conditions and the adaptive traits of plants usu-
and Washington for Douglas-fir (at fer guidelines is a slow process
and can incorporate several ally vary continuously across the landscape rather
top), which is a site specialist, and
approaches such as common- than by distinct boundaries as depicted on seed
western redcedar, a site generalist.
zone maps. Nonetheless, seed zones are commonly
and successfully used for forest tree species because
they are easy to use. Forest tree seeds generally
Seed zones for tree species are collected according to, and nursery materials
Seed zones have been developed and recently revised for many are identified by, their seed zone of origin. These
tree species in Oregon and Washington, including species very collections are from many individual trees, and
appropriate for riparian restoration projects such as red alder the plants propagated from these seeds generally
(Alnus rubra), western redcedar (Thuja plicata), western hem- perform well across the entire zone. As a result of
lock (Tsuga heterophylla), and Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menzie- the development and acceptance of this mecha-
sii). For more detailed information on understanding and using nism, it is easy to find tree seedlings of an appro-
seed zones, see: priate source of origin for most parts of Oregon
• Selecting and Buying Quality Seedlings, EC 1196—practical and Washington “on the shelf,” readily available
information about seed zones and buying nursery seedlings for purchase. However, for many other species of
(mostly conifers). interest to restoration managers, it can be very dif-
ficult to find plant materials of known origin. Seed
• Forest Tree Seed Zones for Western Oregon (1996) by W.
zones or other mechanisms need to be adopted for
K. Randall—has an excellent discussion about transfer
other species used in restoration work to ensure
guidelines. Includes seed zones for particular species.
that the source of origin of the plant materials
See “For more information,” pages 9–10.

 Selecting native plant materials for restoration projects

 that restoration managers are buying is
within a certain, appropriate area.
Several organizations, including the
Native Seed Network and the Oregon
Seed Certification Service, have estab-
lished systems to track the collection and
propagation of native species by indi-
vidual seed lots. This provides the neces-
sary source-of-origin information needed
to employ any of the transfer guideline
approaches described here.

Focal point seed zones

Other types of seed movement guidelines
include focal point seed zones which have
Species suitability Figure 4.—A map of areas with been developed for some species. The focal
Not suitable climate similar to that of a given
Marginal
point seed zone delineates areas where
restoration site (shown within circled adapted seed can be collected for use in a
Moderate
Well
area). Map © 2005, Spatial Climate
Analysis Service. specific planting location.
The formulas used to identify focal point
seed zones typically involve climate and
Tracking sources environmental variables that have been
The Native Seed Network is a collaborative partnership shown to influence traits related to adap-
whose mission is to improve the supply and manage- tiveness (growth rates, growth rhythm,
ment of locally sourced native plant materials for res- cold hardiness, etc.). For most species,
toration and rehabilitation. The Network helps man- the genetic data to form focal point seed
age native plants as a genetic resource by providing a zones are not available, but the similari-
means to track the source of plant materials offered by ties between the source of origin and the
producers. It is a resource for managers looking to buy planting site still can be examined.
plant materials, particularly
When a manager has a choice of seed
native herbaceous prairie
sources, it’s best to choose the one most
and wetland plants. The
similar to the planting site. Important
Native Seed Network tries
climatic variables to examine include
to facilitate the development
rainfall, winter minimum temperatures,
of commercial sources of
summer maximum temperatures, and
locally sourced native plant materials by maintaining a
soil types. Figure 4 shows an example
website—www.nativeseednetwork.org/—with seed list-
of using the Species Suitability Model,
ings and vendor contact information.
developed by OSU’s PRISM Group for
The Oregon Seed Certification Service, part of OSU the Forage Information System, to map
Extension Service, can provide third-party certification areas with similar climates. The differ-
of source of origin, genetic identity, and genetic purity ent colors represent the degrees to which
of collected-in-the-wild or propagated plant materials. certain variables—annual precipitation,
Certification is done under the guidelines of the Asso- January minimum temperatures, and July
ciation of Official Seed Certifying Agencies (AOSCA) maximum temperatures—of a restoration
Native Plant Connection for Pre-Varietal Germplasm site (within circle) correspond to those of
(including the Source-Identified Class). For more infor- surrounding areas. Often, however, these
mation, visit http://www.oscs.oregonstate.edu/ variables are not readily available, and the
manager must use surrogates.

Selecting native plant materials for restoration projects 

 Ecoregions as surrogates
Another potential guide to transferring plant mate-
rials is to use ecoregions instead of seed zones,
or at least as initial seed zones. An ecoregion is a
defined area within which the characteristics of
geography, climate, vegetation, and soil drain-
age are similar. An ecoregion is divided into lev-
els, each level representing an increasing degree
of detail delineating the similarity among these
characteristics.
The ecoregion map developed by the U.S. Envi-
ronmental Protection Agency (EPA) has four lev-
els, from coarse (Level I) to fine scale (Level IV). Figure 5.—Level III ecoregions of Oregon. From http://
When other transfer guidelines are not available, www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/cropmap/oregon/maps/
EPA Level III ecoregions, in conjunction with OReco3.html
elevation bands, may be able to serve as surrogate
seed zones to guide movement until research-based the project areas that can be undertaken. Neither
zones can be developed. The research-based forest extreme is a very satisfactory solution.
tree seed zones generally are smaller (that is, more
Until genetic data are available for each native
finely divided) than Level III ecoregions. Thus,
species, managers will need to make intelligent
using Level III ecoregions as seed zone surrogates
use of the tools they do have. As discussed, these
might best be considered a minimum starting
tools include the generalized zones proposed by
point for guiding source selection when other
Randall, a fairly safe and conservative option (see
transfer guidelines are lacking for a given species.
“Seed zones for tree species,” page 4, and “For
Oregon has nine Level III ecoregions including the
more information,” pages 9–10), ecoregions, or
Coast Range, the Willamette Valley, and the Blue
the delineation of areas with similar climates and
Mountains (Figure 5). See Thorson et al., Eco-
environments as the planting area. A century of
regions of Oregon, page 10, for more information.
forestry experience confirms that source of origin is
an important issue that the restoration community
should not ignore.
Tendencies and consequences
Because research-based transfer guidelines are not
available for most native plants used in restoration,
the seed source issue often is overlooked. This can
lead to choices at one of two mistaken extremes.
Genetic variation
Another important issue in selecting plant mate-
One is to stretch project funds by buying whatever rials is maintaining genetic variation in the
native plants are inexpensive or readily available on populations established in the restored area. Plant
the market. This can lead to the introduction of populations must be genetically variable to be able
inappropriate, poorly adapted plant materials. to adapt to new stresses. Collection and propaga-
tion procedures need to conserve sufficient genetic
The other mistake is to rigidly restrict acquisition diversity to buffer environmental changes in both
of plant materials to those from the project site the short term (years) and long term (decades or
or its immediate proximity. This can lead to loss centuries). Also, a sufficient number of unrelated
of genetic variation (see below), if the original seed parents will ensure that inbreeding will not
population was small already, and/or it can lead become a problem in outcrossing species.
to excessive costs and delays because it requires
separate harvest, storage, and management of Both issues come down to numbers; that is, the
populations that are not significantly different. more plants that contribute to the new population,
Besides increasing the cost and difficulty of devel- the more genetic variation will be captured and the
oping many seed releases for a single species, overly lower the likelihood that close relatives will mate
restrictive seed movement requirements reduce (i.e., less inbreeding).

 Selecting native plant materials for restoration projects

Managers need to consider these matters, whether In all three of these scenarios, the genetic variation
they are buying plant materials or collecting their of the plants propagated has been greatly reduced
own. Failing to consider the genetic base when in the collection step by not collecting from a suf-
selecting plant materials can have potentially sig- ficient number of parents. In the case of the Pacific
nificant consequences on the viability and sustain- dogwood propagated from seed, inbreeding also is
ability of restoration efforts. Yet it is easy to imag- likely. The red-osier dogwood case illustrates that
ine how genetic variability can be eroded. Do these a plant’s original source of origin could be very
scenarios sound familiar? different from its collection location. Red-osier
dogwood has a huge native range that covers most
• A local nursery grower, proud of the quality of of the United States, and the horticultural varieties
her plants, collects her own seeds for the native include selections from throughout the country.
trees and shrubs she raises. She collects all her So here is a case where the “native” plant could be
Pacific dogwood (Cornus nuttallii) seed from anything but local.
two handsome, open-grown trees at a local park.
They are the only Pacific dogwoods in the area.
• A native plant nursery has established cutting How much is enough?
beds for some trees and shrubs. Several shrubs Plants have a wide variety of life histories with
including snowberry (Symphoricarpos albus), different reproduction, pollination, and breeding
salmonberry (Rubus spectabilis), and twinberry strategies. No single collection and propagation
(Lonicera involucrata) were collected in the checklist will ensure the genetic integrity of all
immediate area, from only a couple of mother types of plants used in restoration, but it’s impor-
plants of each species. tant to consider the following aspects.
• Red-osier dogwood (Cornus stolonifera) cuttings
were taken from an earlier conservation planting Number of parents
established from potted plants bought from a Genetic theory indicates it’s best to have a mini-
major nursery. mum of 20 unrelated seed parents represented in a

Figure 6.—In
any restoration
planning, it’s
very important
to take steps that
will maintain
genetic varia-
tion in restored
populations, both
as a buffer against
short- and long-
term environ-
mental changes
and to reduce
problems of
inbreeding.
Lynn Ketchum

Selecting native plant materials for restoration projects 

 collection in order to capture most of the genetic Source sites (stands)
variation in that population. Similarly, at least To represent a plant population well, seed or cut-
20 individual parents should be included in cut- tings must be collected from multiple sites within
ting beds of clonally propagated species. When the the zone. Multiple parents should be sampled from
amount of seed or successfully rooted cuttings pro- each site. Seek out the larger communities, to help
duced by parent plants is highly variable, a larger avoid inbreeding and meet parent-selection crite-
number of parent plants (more than 20) would be ria, which are discussed on the next page.
needed to effectively capture most of the genetic
variation of a population.

A case study
White alder in the Willamette Valley
A recent example of the construction of a locally adapted source
of plant material with adequate genetic variation is that of white
alder (Alnus rhombifolia) for the Willamette Valley.
A group of several organizations in Yamhill County wanted to
have white alder available for local plantings. It is a widespread
species, well adapted to riparian conditions in the Willamette
Valley, but not widely available. The organizations consulted
with several forest geneticists to address both source and genetic
diversity concerns. On the geneticists’ advice, they chose to
make a seed zone collection and decided that the Willamette
Valley, rather than a smaller area initially identified, was a suit-
able zone. White alder is found only at low elevations in the
Valley, so elevation bands were not needed.
The collection strategy was to gather seed from at least 20 par-
ent trees, in four to six stands scattered around the Valley. There
were no hard-and-fast rules about choosing suitable source
stands, except that each needed to be large enough to allow the
selection of about five seed trees from that stand. Selected par-
ent trees needed to be well separated from one another (about
100 feet apart) but not isolated; each needed to be among other
trees that could serve as pollinators.
Thus each seed parent tree (maternal)
likely was pollinated by several differ-
Figure 7.—White alder (above and inset at right) is a wide- ent parents (paternal). Finding stands
spread species that is well adapted to riparian conditions in the that met these criteria was more chal-
Willamette Valley. lenging than expected, because white
alder tends to grow in clumps and in
narrow ribbons along streams. Sites
in several counties were identified in
order to reach the population base
needed.
Now, white alder seed is available to conservation groups and
native plant nurseries in the area. The collection represents most
of the genetic variation of the natural population and, because
it is a seed zone collection, is suitable for growing throughout
the Willamette Valley.

 Selecting native plant materials for restoration projects

Individual parents within a selected source Plant materials A general term that refers to any
Individual maternal parents (“seed trees”) should number of plant forms used to establish a new
be well separated from one another yet not isolated plant. These include seeds, seedlings (bareroot,
from other trees. This increases the probability container, etc.), and cuttings.
that the selected trees are unrelated and encourages Seed zone An area with fixed boundaries on a
cross-pollination by numerous paternal parents. map, within which plant materials can be trans-
Collect from many parents—at least five, but ten ferred with little risk that they will adapt poorly to
would better sample a population. Collect a simi- their new location.
lar amount of seed from each parent.
Source of origin The original location where
plant materials were collected. It is where the seed
source had developed over time and to which it
Glossary is assumed to be adapted. For example, if a nurs-
Adaptive traits Plant characteristics that are ery collects wild seed from the Illinois Valley and
important in determining whether the plant is grows it out for increase in the Willamette Valley,
adapted to its environment. Examples include cold the source of origin would be the Illinois Valley.
hardiness and bud-burst date, traits important to Transfer guidelines Any guidelines used to
survival in environments with cold spring weather. restrict movement of plant materials to ensure that
Common-garden study A study in which popu- plants will be adapted to their new environment.
lations from differing sources of origin are planted These include seed zones, cold hardiness zones,
in a common environment (such as a nursery bed). focal point seed zones, and expert systems.
Differences found among populations then can be
attributed to their genetic makeup since they all
are experiencing the same environment.
For more information
Ecoregion An area that contains similar eco-
systems. The ecoregions developed by the U.S. Exension publications
Environmental Protection Agency are “areas within OSU Extension publications can be viewed and
which biotic, abiotic, terrestrial, and aquatic downloaded, and printed copies can be ordered,
capacities and potentials are similar” (McMahon et through the Extension website at http://extension.
al. 2001). oregonstate.edu/catalog/
Elevation bands The land that lies between two Duddles, Ralph E. and Chal Landgren. Selecting
elevation levels. For example, a 1,000-foot eleva- and Buying Quality Seedlings, EC 1196.
tion band is the area between 1,000 and 2,000 feet
above sea level. Emmingham, William H., Brian D. Cleary, and
David R. DeYoe. Seedling Care and Handling,
Genetic diversity (Genetic variation) The EC 1095.
amount of variation found in the genes of a plant
population. The variation we see in plants is a
function of the genes that make up the plant and
of the environment in which it grows. Genetic Other publications
variation is the foundation that allows plants to McMahon, Gerard et al. 2001. Developing a spa-
adapt to changes in their environment. The more tial framework of common ecological regions for
genetic variation available, the better the chance a the conterminous U.S. Environmental Management
population will have the right genes to adapt to a 28:293–316.
change. Randall, William K. 1996. Forest Tree Seed Zones
Outcrossing species Plant species that rely mainly for Western Oregon: Commercially planted forest tree
on receiving pollen from different plants to pol- species and other species commonly used in wildlife
linate ovules in order to form seed. This contrasts and riparian plantings. Salem: Oregon Department
with inbreeding species that rely primarily on self- of Forestry.
pollination to form seed.

Selecting native plant materials for restoration projects 

 Online resources
California Spatial Information Library. California
tree seed zones.
http://casil-mirror1.ceres.ca.gov/casil/
uncategorized/legacy.ca.gov/
Biology_Terrestrial/tree_seed/
Native Plant Society of Oregon.
http://npsoregon.org/
The Native Seed Network.
www.nativeseednetwork.org/
Oregon Department of Forestry. Oregon tree seed
zones.
http://www.oregon.gov/ODF/FIELD/Nursery/ Figure 8.—Success in restoring sites has a lot to do with
ZoneMaps.shtml selecting “appropriate” plant materials; i.e., species that are
suitable for the site, are grown from locally adapted sources,
Oregon Department of Forestry. 2006–07 Sources and have a solid genetic composition.
of Native Forest Nursery Seedlings. Annually revised
catalog can be viewed and a copy printed.
http://www.oregon.gov/ODF/ U.S. National Arboretum. USDA Plant Hardiness
PRIVATE_FORESTS/docs/2006seedlings.pdf Zone Maps.
http://www.usna.usda.gov/Hardzone/ushzmap.
Oregon State University Seed Certification. html
http://www.oscs.oregonstate.edu/
USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service
Oregon State University Spatial Climate Analysis Plants Database.
Service (SCAS). Climate and soils data for any http://plants.usda.gov/
location in the United States.
http://mistral.oce.orst.edu/forages/ VegSpec, a Web-based tool for selecting appropri-
ate species and creating vegetative designs; spon-
Thorson, T.D., S.A. Bryce, D.A. Lammers, A.J. sored by the USDA Natural Resources Conserva-
Woods, J.M. Omernik, J., Kagan, D.E. Pater, and tion Service, the U.S. Geological Survey, and the
J.A. Comstock. 2003. Ecoregions of Oregon (color U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
poster with map, descriptive text, summary tables, http://vegspec.nrcs.usda.gov/vegSpec/index.jsp
and photographs). Reston, VA: U.S. Geological
Survey (map scale 1:1,500,000). Washington State Department of Natural
http://www.epa.gov/wed/pages/ecoregions/or_eco. Resources. Washington tree seed transfer zones.
htm http://www.dnr.wa.gov/webster/seedzonebook/

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Published November 2006.