The European native seed industry: Characterization and perspectives in grassland restoration

© 2017 by the authors. The European Union committed to restore 15% of degraded ecosystems by 2020, and to comply with this goal, native plant material, such as seeds, is needed in large quantities. The native seed production of herbaceous species plays a critical role in supplying seed for restorati...

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Main Authors: De Vitis, M., Abbandonato, H., Dixon, Kingsley, Laverack, G., Bonomi, C., Pedrini, Simone
Format: Journal Article
Published: M D P I AG 2017
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/62570
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author De Vitis, M.
Abbandonato, H.
Dixon, Kingsley
Laverack, G.
Bonomi, C.
Pedrini, Simone
author_facet De Vitis, M.
Abbandonato, H.
Dixon, Kingsley
Laverack, G.
Bonomi, C.
Pedrini, Simone
author_sort De Vitis, M.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description © 2017 by the authors. The European Union committed to restore 15% of degraded ecosystems by 2020, and to comply with this goal, native plant material, such as seeds, is needed in large quantities. The native seed production of herbaceous species plays a critical role in supplying seed for restoration of a key ecosystem: grasslands. The objective of this work is to provide for the first time a characterization of the sector at a multi-country European level together with key information about the community of native seed users via intensive web-based research and a direct survey of industry participants. Based on more than 1300 contacts and direct surveying of more than 200 stakeholders across Europe, responses indicated that: the European native seed industry consists primarily of small to medium enterprises; responding native seed users purchase annually an average of 3600 kg of seeds with an average expenditure of €17,600; the industry (suppliers and consumers) favours development of seed zones and would participate in a European network for knowledge sharing. This study provides framework principles that can guide decisions in this sector, critical for fulfilling the growing demand for native seed as a primary tool for large-scale restoration on the continent.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-625702018-03-29T03:48:37Z The European native seed industry: Characterization and perspectives in grassland restoration De Vitis, M. Abbandonato, H. Dixon, Kingsley Laverack, G. Bonomi, C. Pedrini, Simone © 2017 by the authors. The European Union committed to restore 15% of degraded ecosystems by 2020, and to comply with this goal, native plant material, such as seeds, is needed in large quantities. The native seed production of herbaceous species plays a critical role in supplying seed for restoration of a key ecosystem: grasslands. The objective of this work is to provide for the first time a characterization of the sector at a multi-country European level together with key information about the community of native seed users via intensive web-based research and a direct survey of industry participants. Based on more than 1300 contacts and direct surveying of more than 200 stakeholders across Europe, responses indicated that: the European native seed industry consists primarily of small to medium enterprises; responding native seed users purchase annually an average of 3600 kg of seeds with an average expenditure of €17,600; the industry (suppliers and consumers) favours development of seed zones and would participate in a European network for knowledge sharing. This study provides framework principles that can guide decisions in this sector, critical for fulfilling the growing demand for native seed as a primary tool for large-scale restoration on the continent. 2017 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/62570 10.3390/su9101682 M D P I AG fulltext
spellingShingle De Vitis, M.
Abbandonato, H.
Dixon, Kingsley
Laverack, G.
Bonomi, C.
Pedrini, Simone
The European native seed industry: Characterization and perspectives in grassland restoration
title The European native seed industry: Characterization and perspectives in grassland restoration
title_full The European native seed industry: Characterization and perspectives in grassland restoration
title_fullStr The European native seed industry: Characterization and perspectives in grassland restoration
title_full_unstemmed The European native seed industry: Characterization and perspectives in grassland restoration
title_short The European native seed industry: Characterization and perspectives in grassland restoration
title_sort european native seed industry: characterization and perspectives in grassland restoration
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/62570