Florabank Guidelines Module 7: Seed Production

This guideline is an introduction to the establishment and use of seed production areas (SPA) for native species. It focuses on the production of seed from native plants primarily for the purpose of restoring ecological communities that have been degraded or destroyed (noting that native seed is sought and used for a variety of other reasons). It also includes guidance on circumstances where SPAs are appropriate, approaches to planning, designing, establishing, and maintaining seed production areas, as well harvesting and processing the seed they produce. While acknowledging some similarities between the systems, the guide will not focus on forestry tree seed orchards, which are described as output systems to produce genetically improved material (Sweet 1995, Funda and El-Kassaby 2012).