The Australian native seed sector is a critical component of the ecological restoration industry and both face challenges due to the continued loss and fragmentation of native vegetation, low levels of restoration funding and the impacts of climate change (to name but a few). To help prepare for such challenges, a national survey of participants engaged in the native seed sector was conducted, to gauge its capacity to meet current and future demand for native seed, and to gather feedback on issues that are perceived by the sector to be affecting their activities. This report details the findings of that survey.
Findings revealed that the most important issues were:
- Future demand for seed will be difficult to meet from wild harvest
- The market is unwilling to pay for the true cost of seed collection/seed production
- There is a lack of seed available from a broad range of species; and
- Demand for seed is inconsistent and/or unpredictable.
Other key findings from the survey include:
- There is a lack of seed available for a broad range of species being used for restoration
- A large proportion of the seed harvested by seed suppliers comes from geographic ranges that greatly exceed those considered to be ‘local provenance’
- Native seed is not commonly tested to determine its quality attributes
- The majority of seed collections or seed purchases made annually are small in volume (ie usually <5 kg) suggesting that overall native seed volumes (supplied or purchased) are modest in quantity and may not be sufficient to support large-scale restoration
- Seed production areas are an increasingly important supplier of seed for restoration and other end uses.
Issues of high importance to respondents are discussed in detail in this report, as are the key survey themes that include seed supply and demand practices, seed provenance, seed handling and testing, and seed production areas (SPAs). It is hoped that the survey findings and the subsequent recommendations will assist governments to develop policy and planning that is more finely attuned to the needs of the sector.
