COS 100-2 - CANCELLED - The Seed Pile Project: A Community Science Project Focused on Urban Native Seed Dispersal

Background/Question/Methods

Native seed-dispersed plants are ecologically critical, but are rarely incorporated into designed landscapes in urban areas for a variety of reasons, primarily aesthetics. Yet some are well-suited to thrive along human corridors like roadsides, sidewalks and alleys. The Seed Pile Project is a community science project aimed at understanding what species of native seed-dispersed plants are able to thrive in urban areas, and how their life history traits relate to urban disturbance regimes. The study was conducted in the Sacramento, CA area and involved approximately 1000 participants dispersing 1800 packets of local ecotype native seed into their communities. Participants were asked to drop their seed packet in the fall, then monitor the location throughout the season to see what species survived and what kinds of disturbances occurred. Participants included individuals from all ages as well as scout troops and school classes. This project aims to understand what species would be most successful if deposited along human-made corridors so that parks departments, managers of roadways, and landscape designers can select species that are most likely to disperse and recruit.

Results/Conclusions

Results presented are from the first two pilot years of this study. Initial findings show certain species to be particularly successful in certain locations and management regimes. Impediments to landscape maintenance (e.g., trash and other debris) were helpful in preventing people from spraying or mechanically removing species like Madia elegans and Clarkia spp.. These species were also successful in cracks in asphalt on roadsides and parking areas. Achillea millefolium was successful at infiltrating maintained lawns, and Amsinckia menziesii was the most successful at setting seed in a variety of conditions. We hypothesize that Madia and Clarkia are poor competitors and therefore benefited from locations like cracks in asphalt where other species that typically outcompete them were absent. Highly managed areas generally had little to no survival of the seeded species, while they were generally more successful in low or unmanaged areas. Further research aims to identify how specific management regimes impact specific species based life history traits. This project also aims to understand how climate change impacts phenology and seed viability as it builds data year after year.