Seed markets are vital to scaling up ecosystem restoration in the Brazilian
Cerrado, home of the world’s most species-rich grasslands and savannas.
We compiled lists of species traded by four major Cerrado seed supply
systems to investigate the representativeness of the species currently available
for seed-based restoration. We ...
Seed markets are vital to scaling up ecosystem restoration in the Brazilian
Cerrado, home of the world’s most species-rich grasslands and savannas.
We compiled lists of species traded by four major Cerrado seed supply
systems to investigate the representativeness of the species currently available
for seed-based restoration. We also identified whether dominant groundlayer species are being sourced for seed production. Seeds from 263 Cerrado
species can be purchased for restoration, of which 68% are trees, particularly
legumes (24%). 63% of the traded species were found in only one seed
supply system. The five most dominant graminoids of the Cerrado ground
layer were available for sale, but two additional species uncommon in oldgrowth areas represented 44% of the sales of a key seed trader in Central
Brazil. The expansion of Cerrado seed supply systems should be supported to
further increase the number of species on the market. Sourcing seeds from
a diversity of herbaceous species is central to facilitating the restoration of
species-rich grasslands and savannas in the Cerrado. Recovering the diversity
and functioning of old-growth open ecosystems through seeds will depend
on increasing the supply and demand for species typical of Cerrado’s ground
layer
