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IPN
position on usage of the word "Ecotype"
This section does not
address the issues involved in deciding what plant material is most appropriate
to use in conservation work, but focuses on the actual term local ecotype. For information on plant selection work see the
sections titled "Importance of Using Local Ecotype Plant Material" and
"Guidelines for Selecting Local Ecotype Plant Material".
Within the
conservation community there is general agreement that it is desirable to use
plant material genetically similar as possible to the plant community which
originally existed on the reconstruction site.
However, there is some disagreement over the terminology that best
describes the appropriate plant material. The
IPN has chosen to use the term local ecotype to identify a collection of
plants originating in a specific area and therefore carrying genetic adaptations
to that specific environment. Plant
material appropriate for use in prairie reconstruction projects is therefore
referred to as local ecotype plants or local ecotype seed.
The term ecotype
is often used in biological literature, usually to describe populations that
have evolved in an extreme environment such as soil with unusual mineral
concentrations or atypical geographical areas.
By using the word local in conjunction with ecotype we
identify a similar situation, a collection of plants that evolved in response to
the specific local environment of an area, although the differences in
environment are usually subtle rather than extreme and usually represent a
geographical gradient.
In some instances the
definition of ecotype has been restricted to populations that can no longer
interbreed but in other cases the definition specifies populations that do
retain hybridization potential with each other.
It is the latter that the IPN includes in it’s definition.
The term ecotype
implies adaptation or differentiation and therefore is more desirable than the
term genotype, which is the collection of all the alleles (mutations in specific
genes) in a population, including many random mutations that have not been
selected for by environmental pressures.
Some ecological
restoration literature uses the term "local origin seed" (or a similar
phrase) to convey this concept. The
IPN has found a tendency for people to misunderstand such phrases because they
contain familiar words, so the reader may not realize an important new concept is being
conveyed. The use of an uncommon term like ecotype is more likely to
cause the reader to pause and realize that learning is needed.
A
further problem encountered when using a phrase such as "local origin seed"
is the tendency for readers to confuse it with "buy local", a term
frequently used by commerce groups meaning "shop close to home".
In this case, shopping close to home could be interpreted as a
recommendation to go to the nearest retail nursery outlet, where local ecotype
seeds and plants are not necessarily sold. |