Data from: Does origin always matter? Evaluating the influence of nonlocal seed provenances for ecological restoration purposes in a widespread and outcrossing plant species

For restoration purposes, nature conservation generally enforces the use
of local seed material based on the “local-is-best” (LIB) approach.
However, in some cases recommendations to refrain from this approach have
been made. Here we test if a common widespread species with no obvious
signs of local adaptation may be a candidate species for abandoning LIB
during restoration. Using 10 microsatellite markers we compared population
genetic patterns of the generalist species Daucus carota in indigenous and
formerly restored sites (nonlocal seed provenances). Gene diversity
overall ranged between He = 0.67 and 0.86 and showed no significant
differences between the two groups. Hierarchical AMOVA and principal
component analysis revealed very high genetic population admixture and
negligible differentiation between indigenous and restored sites (FCT =
0.002). Moreover, differentiation between groups was caused by only one
outlier population, where inbreeding effects are presumed. We therefore
conclude that the introduction of nonlocal seed provenances in the course
of landscape restoration did not jeopardize regional species persistence
by contributing to inbreeding or outbreeding depressions, or any
measurable adverse population genetic effect. On the basis of these
results, we see no obvious objections to the current practice to use the
10-fold cheaper, nonlocal seed material of D. carota for restoration
projects.