Data from: Rapid evolution in native plants cultivated for ecological restoration: not a general pattern

The growing number of restoration projects worldwide increases the demand
for seed material of native species. To meet this demand, seeds are often
produced through large‐scale cultivation on specialized farms, using
wild‐collected seeds as the original sources. However, during cultivation
plants experience novel environmental conditions compared to those in
natural populations, and there is a danger that the plants in cultivation
are subject to unintended selection and lose their adaptation to natural
habitats. Although the propagation methods are usually designed to
maintain as much natural genetic diversity as possible, the effectiveness
of these measures have never been tested. We obtained seeds of five common
grassland species from one of the largest native seed producers in
Germany. For each species, the seeds were from multiple generations of
seed production. We used AFLP markers and a common garden experiment to
test for genetic and phenotypic changes during cultivation of these
plants. The molecular markers detected significant evolutionary changes in
three out of the five species, and we found significant phenotypic changes
in two species. The only species that showed substantial genetic and
phenotypic changes was the short‐lived and predominantly selfing Medicago
lupulina, where in the other, mostly perennial and outcrossing species,
the observed changes were mostly minor. Agricultural propagation of native
seed materials for restoration can cause evolutionary changes, at least in
some species. We recommend caution particularly in selfing and short‐lived
species, where evolution may happen faster and effects may thus be more
severe.