Terraformation (TF) and its partners are committed to addressing forest degradation and loss caused by deforestation and climate change. Appropriate plant species selection incorporates factors such as site conditions, restoration objectives, and local context to support sustainable forest restoration with community co-benefits. We prioritize native species that are well-adapted to local environments, promoting biodiversity, ecosystem services, and resilience (see Box 1). TF values the inclusion of local communities and their traditional knowledge in the decision-making process.
Box 1. Glossary of Terms Introduced/Non-native/Exotic/Alien species are those where the plant (or its propagule) has been transported by humans across a major geographical barrier, and it is not native to the region via natural dispersal. They may or may not become naturalized and/or invasive. Invasive species are defined by Verra as “A non-native species whose introduction and spread may cause socio-cultural, economic, or environmental harm or harm to human health per the Global Invasive Species Database or a jurisdictional registry, which takes precedence over any global dataset.” Biologically, invasive species are non-native introduced species that are, or have the potential to become, successfully established or naturalized in an ecosystem outside their native range, potentially causing economic, environmental, or human health damage. Invasive species tend to have broad ecological niches, displacing native species and thus homogenizing the structure, composition, and function of the ecosystems they colonize. Invasive species usually produce reproductive offspring in areas distant from sites of introduction (approximate scales: > 100 m over < 50 years for taxa spreading by seeds and other propagules; > 6 m/3 years for taxa spreading by roots, rhizomes, stolons, or creeping stems). Taxa that can cope with the abiotic environment and biota in the general area may invade disturbed, semi-natural communities. Invasion of successionally mature, undisturbed communities usually requires that the alien taxon overcome a different category of barriers. Native species are those naturally occurring within a specific region or ecosystem, and their presence can be attributed solely to local natural evolutionary processes throughout history. While the terms "native" and "indigenous" are often used interchangeably, it's important to note that "indigenous" holds additional cultural connotations. This term underscores a species' vital role in the heritage and traditions of the local community, going beyond its mere biological presence in a specific region. Naturalized species are introduced species that have become established in their non-native environment, starting when various abiotic and biotic barriers to survival and reproduction are overcome. Naturalized species have gained the ability to recruit and spread in the new environment. They may or may not become invasive, depending on their rate of spread and their degree of impact on native ecosystems or human populations. For further information on these terms, please refer to: Richardson D.M., P. Pyšek, M. Rejmánek, M.G. Barbour, F.D. Panetta, and C.J. West. 2000. Naturalization and invasion of alien plants: concepts and definitions. Diversity and Distributions 6: 93–107. |
Our commitment extends beyond prohibiting planting of invasive species (see Box 3). It is equally critical to avoid introducing native species into ecosystems where they do not naturally occur, as this can promote ecosystem degradation, an aspect that is often overlooked.
These guidelines are specific to restoration projects. If you are interested in an agroforestry focused project, contact Terraformation to learn more about our agroforestry guidelines.
There are numerous considerations when selecting plant species for restoration, as detailed below. TF is committed to supporting its partners through these processes with a comprehensive offering of Restoration Ecology Training, which includes courses in restoration planning and seed science.
Guidelines for Suitable Plant Species Selection in Restoration Projects
- Partners are required to submit a species list at the beginning of the project, where scientific names must be provided (see Box 2). TF reviews the species list, and its approval is a major clause of the contract. Partners are required to collect seeds and/or plant material, propagate, and plant only those species on the approved list. If partners want to modify the species list, they are required to communicate changes promptly to TF for review. Only if these changes are approved will the project continue to be funded.
- Evaluate factors such as local site conditions, local community benefits, ecological compatibility, genetic diversity, ethical sourcing of plant material, and minimizing the risk of invasive species. Additionally, careful assessment of relative abundance, or each species’ proportion in relation to other species planted, is essential to prevent imbalances in the restored ecosystem. Planting species in proportions very different from the reference ecosystem may facilitate invasive behavior and/or poor ecosystem health. TF can support this process through training, resource sharing, and collaboration with local experts.
- Integrate diverse native plant species across stages of ecological succession, which may include pioneer or opportunist; early secondary, large-gap, or long-lived pioneer; late secondary; and mature or small-gap species. Such diversity contributes to the establishment of a resilient forest structure and composition, fostering ecosystem integrity and helping to prevent the colonization of invasive species. TF can support this process through training, resource sharing, and collaboration with local experts.
- We recommend planting species that promote natural regeneration, or natural recruitment of other native species, especially understory herbs and shrubs, that are suitable for the ecosystem. This extends beyond plants, as balanced and biodiverse plantings also attract other critical components of a healthy ecosystem, such as native animals, fungi, and microbes. This is one indicator of successful restoration.
- Consider species functional groups, or groups of different species that perform similar ecological functions, to help build resilient forests. A few examples of functional groups include canopy trees that provide shade, understory plants with fibrous roots that stabilize soil, and mid-story shrubs producing fruits that attract animal dispersers, among many others. By incorporating multiple species from one functional group, the restored ecosystem can better withstand future disturbances and threats, even if one species declines. It is also important to balance the relative abundance of plants from different functional groups, similar to balancing relative abundance of individual species.
- We also encourage the use of key species, such as those that are rare, threatened, endangered, vulnerable, in decline, keystone, indicator, nesting sites for seed-dispersing animals, or other species of local or global conservation importance.
- We highly recommend including native plant species with significant roles in supporting local livelihoods, cultural practices, and economic activities within the region, as long as they are locally adapted to the region. This may include non-timber forest products (NTFPs), which encompass a wide range of plant-based resources such as medicinal herbs, fruits, nuts, fibers, resins, and other non-timber products derived from forests. These species contribute to the biodiversity of the forest while also providing direct or indirect benefits to sectors such as agriculture, forestry, agroforestry, horticulture, and herbal medicine. NTFPs can provide income, employment, market opportunities, and other socioeconomic benefits.
- In situations where the partner faces challenges in identifying their species, due to remote location, extreme rarity, limited taxonomic expertise, or other constraints, TF will request GPS coordinates from the seed collection area. This enables the TF team and/or local experts to assess local adaptation, or compatibility of these new species with the local project site and ecoregion, while awaiting taxonomic identification. In parallel, collecting GPS points can facilitate mapping of seed sources for seed zone identification, and provide essential environmental and geographic data.
- If non-native species are selected, partners should submit a "species use justification" where social, economic, and ecological importance is explained. The justification should include recommendations from local botanist(s), verified accurate species identification (see Box 2), and an invasiveness assessment (see Box 3).
- We recommend creating a supplementary native plant species list to substitute for a) non-native species, b) low survival rates, and c) sensitivity to climate fluctuations or disturbances as a contingency plan. This list enables the project to proactively mitigate risks and employ adaptive management to address unforeseen challenges that may impact species on its primary list. It can also promote long-term success in terms of enhanced biodiversity, increased resilience, and bolstered stakeholder confidence, since it underscores the project's commitment to both ecological integrity and comprehensive planning. The use of such species is allowed after their review and approval by TF.
Box 2. SPECIES IDENTIFICATION Terraformation and its partners are committed to accurate and consistent identification of plant species in restoration projects, as this is crucial for successful, ecologically sound restoration. TF recognizes the complexity and challenges of species identification and encourages collaboration with experts, local communities, and Indigenous knowledge holders to enhance species identification with region-specific information (see Appendix 1). Guidelines for Accurate Plant Species Identification
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Box 3. INVASIVE SPECIES Terraformation and its partners are committed to NOT collecting, propagating, storing, or planting species that have the potential to become invasive in specific countries, regions, or elsewhere. The intention is not to exclude all non-native/exotic species, but there is clear, irrefutable evidence that using potentially invasive species is already posing a threat to biodiversity and ecosystem integrity. To avoid these harms, TF prohibits the use of invasive species and promotes the adoption of more sustainable and ecologically responsible approaches to restoration projects. This is in agreement with the latest Verra VCS Standards, for which “the project shall not introduce any invasive species or allow an invasive species to thrive as part of project activities.” Guidelines on the Use of Invasive Species in Restoration
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Appendix 1. External Resources for Plant Species Identification
Table 1. Primary global taxonomic resources recommended by TF.
Taxonomic Database | Link | Notes |
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Plants of the World Online (POWO) | https://powo.science.kew.org/ | One of two global credible resources for taxonomic opinions, constantly updated by scientific institutions specializing in nomenclature and taxonomy. |
Taxonomic Name Resolution Service (TNRS) | https://tnrs.biendata.org/ | A tool for computer-assisted standardization of plant scientific names. The TNRS corrects spelling errors and alternative spellings to a standard list of names, and converts out of date names (synonyms) to the current accepted name. The TNRS can process many names at once, saving hours of tedious and error-prone manual name correction. |
International Plant Names Index (IPNI) | https://www.ipni.org/ | A nomenclatural index of names of vascular plants published under the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (ICN). It serves as a useful resource as the main authoritative index of scientific plant names globally, but it does not provide any further details—for this we recommend POWO and WFO. |
Table 2. Regional taxonomic databases and resources.
Taxonomic Database | Link | Notes |
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Africa | ||
African Plant Database | http://www.ville-ge.ch/musinfo/bd/cjb/africa/recherche.php | Searchable by country. Useful for additional bibliographic information and notes on ecology and distribution. |
Flora of Mozambique | https://www.mozambiqueflora.com/ | Based on Flora Zambesiaca, now available in POWO, but at this site, photos and info are added by an enthusiastic community. |
Flora of Zimbabwe | https://www.zimbabweflora.co.zw/ | Based on Flora Zambesiaca, now available in POWO, but at this site, photos and info are added by an enthusiastic community. |
PlantZAfrica | http://pza.sanbi.org | |
Asia | ||
Asian Fagaceae | https://www.asianfagaceae.com/ | |
Flora of China | http://www.efloras.org/flora_page.aspx?flora_id=2 | |
India Biodiversity Portal | https://indiabiodiversity.org/ | |
Flora Malesiana | http://portal.cybertaxonomy.org/flora-malesiana/ | Useful supplement to POWO and WFO (for more detailed species descriptions), but not always reliable for up-to-date plant names. |
South America | ||
Brazilian Flora | http://floradobrasil.jbrj.gov.br/reflora/listaBrasil | |
Flora of Chile | http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=60&taxon_id=10203 | |
Flora of the Guianas | https://portal.cybertaxonomy.org/flora-guianas/ | Useful supplement to POWO and WFO (for more detailed species descriptions), but not always reliable for up-to-date plant names. |
Projects in South America | http://www.mobot.org/MOBOT/Research/southamericaprojects.shtml | |
North America | ||
Flora of North America | http://floranorthamerica.org/Main_Page | |
USDA PLANTS Database | https://plants.usda.gov/home | |
Australia | ||
Florabase (Australia) | https://florabase.dpaw.wa.gov.au/ |
Table 3. Additional resources for species information and research.
Taxonomic Database | Link | Notes |
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Biodiversity Heritage Library | https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/ | Primary source of botanical literature (digitized literature; useful for taxonomic revisions, in-depth botanical research). |
Botanicus Digital Library | http://www.botanicus.org/browse | Primary source of botanical literature (digitized literature; useful for taxonomic revisions, in-depth botanical research). |
Catalogue of Life | http://www.catalogueoflife.org | Useful resource for additional bibliographic details, but not recommended as an authoritative resource for plant names. |
Encyclopedia of Life | https://eol.org/ | Useful resource for additional bibliographic details, but not recommended as an authoritative resource for plant names. |
Global Biodiversity Information Facility | https://www.gbif.org/ | Species distribution data, collated from multiple sources globally, not recommended directly as an authoritative resource for plant names. |
BGCI GlobalTree Portal | https://www.bgci.org/resources/bgci-databases/globaltree-portal/ | Focused on conservation status and actions. Not recommended as an authoritative resource for plant names. |
JSTOR Global Plants | https://plants.jstor.org/ | A primary source of botanical (herbarium) specimens (digitized at high resolution) including Type specimens (and associated notebooks, and materials). Useful for in-depth taxonomic research, but not recommended as an authoritative resource for plant names. |
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species | https://www.iucnredlist.org/ | The global resource to check conservation status of a species based on IUCN criteria, but not recommended as an authoritative resource for plant names. |
Tropicos | https://tropicos.org/ | A primary source of botanical (herbarium) specimens (digitized at high resolution). Useful for in-depth taxonomic research, but not recommended as an authoritative resource for plant names. |
WFO Plant List | https://wfoplantlist.org/ | The WFO Plant List is a snapshot of the WFO Taxonomic Backbone—giving the classification information at a particular point in time, and providing a stable reference to which people can refer and cite in their publications. |
World Agroforestry Centre | https://apps.worldagroforestry.org/treedb/index.php | Great agroforestry resource with information on some native tree species, but not recommended as an authoritative resource for plant names. |
Additionally, you can use mobile apps or other platforms such as iNaturalist, PlantSnap, or Pl@ntNet to share/access plant species biology, ecology, geographic distribution, etc. Note that these are crowd-sourced citizen science platforms that rely on observations by anyone with an interest in the natural world, with identifications by authenticated users (often professional biologists). They may be highly reliable in some regions, but not others. Therefore, we recommend using these useful tools with caution.
Finding Local and/or Regional Experts:
- BGCI GardenSearch is an excellent option of where to find a garden in a country of interest.
- BGCI Directory of Expertise is another alternative to search for global botanical experts.
- The Directory of Expertise of the IUCN Seed Conservation Specialist Group is another database to search for botanical experts and institutions in your region.
- Universities with botany departments or attached herbaria. The Index Herbariorum should be consulted to find local herbaria in the country of interest.
How to make an herbarium specimen
Please consult the RBG Kew’s MSB technical information sheet on Making Herbarium Specimens and the video made by the RBG Edinburgh, RBGE Herbarium: Basic Plant Collecting and Pressing.
Plant Species Selection Guidelines, Version 2.0 / October 2024
This document is under a continual internal review process by our experts and is subject to update based on new findings.