Editing Species reintroduction (section)

=== Ecological similarity ===
Plants or animals that undergo reintroduction may exhibit reduced fitness if they are not sufficiently adapted to local environmental conditions. Therefore, researchers should consider ecological and environmental similarity of source and recipient sites when selecting populations for reintroduction. Environmental factors to consider include climate and soil traits (pH, percent clay, silt and sand, percent combustion carbon, percent combustion nitrogen, concentration of Ca, Na, Mg, P, K).<ref name=":1" /> Historically, sourcing plant material for reintroductions has followed the rule "local is best," as the best way to preserve local adaptations, with individuals for reintroductions selected from the most geographically proximate population.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Havens |first1=Kayri |author-link=Kayri Havens |last2=Vitt |first2=Pati |last3=Still |first3=Shannon |last4=Kramer |first4=Andrea T. |last5=Fant |first5=Jeremie B. |last6=Schatz |first6=Katherine |date=2015-01-01 |title=Seed Sourcing for Restoration in an Era of Climate Change |journal=Natural Areas Journal |volume=35 |issue=1 |pages=122–133 |doi=10.3375/043.035.0116 |issn=0885-8608 |s2cid=86349716 |doi-access=free}}</ref> However, geographic distance was shown in a [[common garden experiment]] to be an insufficient predictor of fitness.<ref name=":1" /> Additionally, projected climatic shifts induced by [[climate change]] have led to the development of new seed sourcing protocols that aim to source seeds that are best adapted to project climate conditions.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Breed|first1=Martin F.|last2=Stead|first2=Michael G.|last3=Ottewell|first3=Kym M.|last4=Gardner|first4=Michael G.|last5=Lowe|first5=Andrew J.|date=2013-02-01|title=Which provenance and where? Seed sourcing strategies for revegetation in a changing environment|journal=Conservation Genetics|language=en|volume=14|issue=1|pages=1–10|doi=10.1007/s10592-012-0425-z|bibcode=2013ConG...14....1B |s2cid=12813499|issn=1566-0621}}</ref> Conservation agencies have developed seed transfer zones that serve as guidelines for how far plant material can be transported before it will perform poorly.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Genetically appropriate choices for plant materials to maintain biological diversity|last1=Rogers|first1=D. L.|last2=Montalvo|first2=A. M.|publisher=Report to the USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Region, Lakewood, CO.|year=2004|location=University of California|pages=103–129}}</ref> Seed transfer zones take into account proximity, ecological conditions, and climatic conditions in order to predict how plant performance will vary from one zone to the next. A study of the reintroduction of ''[[Castilleja levisecta]]'' found that the source populations most physically near the reintroduction site performed the poorest in a field experiment, while those from the source population whose ecological conditions most closely matched the reintroduction site performed best, demonstrating the importance of matching the evolved adaptations of a population to the conditions at the reintroduction site.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Lawrence|first1=Beth|last2=Kaye|first2=Thomas|date=2011|title=Reintroduction of Castilleja levisecta: Effects of Ecological Similarity, Source Population Genetics, and Habitat Quality|journal=Restoration Ecology|volume=19|issue=2|pages=166–176|doi=10.1111/j.1526-100x.2009.00549.x|bibcode=2011ResEc..19..166L |s2cid=85653946 }}</ref>