Seed Bank Research Articles

Identification of Genetic Distance of Exotic and Locally Developed Maize ( Zea mays L) Inbred Lines

Development of hybrid varieties is one of the strategies to increase the productivity and production of Maize (Zea mays L.) in Sri Lanka. Heterosis is an important aspect to measure the hybrid vigor. Genetic distance is a main factor, which affects on heterosis. Identification of suitable parents using molecular markers gives many advantages over morphological evaluation. This study was conducted at the Molecular Biology Laboratory at Plant Genetic Resources Centre, Gannoruwa to identify distant parents using Simple Sequence Repeats (SSR) primers. Genomic DNA was isolated from selected 23 inbred lines including exotic and locally developed lines using modified CTAB method. Molecular characterization was done using four SSR primers; umc1023, phi402893, phi 112 and phi 041. Amplified products were resolved in Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis. Data were manually scored and analysis of genetic variation was carried out using the software POWEMARKER 3.1. Analysis revealed that polymorphism existed for all four SSR primers. Considerable genetic diversity was observed among the loci. Number of alleles per locus ranged from 2 to 3. Polymorphic information content (PIC) ranged from 0.24 (phi112) to 0.42 (phi402893). Gene diversity varied from 0.28 (phi112) to 0.46 (phi402893). Based on the values, it was revealed that there is a high genetic diversity present within the tested inbred lines. Genetic distance was calculated based on Nei’s genetic distance and phylogenetic tree was developed using Unweighted Pair Group Method with Arithmetic Mean (UPGMA). Tested 23 populations could be grouped into four clusters. Most of the exotic inbred lines grouped into one cluster revealed that there is less genetic distances present within the exotic lines. The genetic distance information obtained in this study will be useful to select better parents for development of maize hybrids with good performance.

Decentralized Seed Services in Africa: An Assessment of Tanzania and Uganda

The overall goal of decentralizing seed services is to increase the availability and accessibility of quality seed to farmers. The governments of Uganda and Tanzania have endeavoured to enhance access to improved seed for smallholder farmers. These efforts have achieved results and encountered challenges. The successes include an increase in the number of key players in the seed sector in general. In Uganda, the number of community seed banks (CSBs) has increased from one to five over the last five years (Adokorach et al., 2020). The number of Local Seed Businesses (LSBs)has increased from 27 in 2012 to 256 in 2020. In addition to the increase in actors involved in improved seed production, the interaction between them has also improved. The LSBs are developing strong links with the Zonal Agricultural Research and Development Institute (ZARDI), and the CSBs are working closely with the Plant Genetic Resources Centre. In Tanzania, the government has demonstrated willingness to support the production of Quality Declared Seed (QDS) through the enactment of the QDS Regulations in July 2020. The new regulations clarify hitherto grey areas and introduce fees for inspection, germination, and moisture tests, among others. In addition to introducing the regulations, the sector has also demonstrated steady performance over the years. QDS production has increased five-fold between 2015 and 2019. QDS farmers work closely with the Tanzania Agricultural Research Institute (TARI), the Agricultural Seed Agency (ASA) and district agricultural officers to ensure that farmers produce quality seeds. Despite these notable improvements, various challenges affect the performance of the decentralized seed system. The two specific services that have yet to be fully decentralized are the management of plant genetic resources in Tanzania and seed testing in both countries. Even though other seed services have been decentralized, further challenges persist. For example, some of the system's key players, namely the CSBs, LSBs, and QDS farmers, are not yet financially sustainable. These entities are still dependent on external project support. Without it they may not cover some of their operational costs. It is important to note that the decentralized system's challenges may be, because the system and some of the players are still in their infancy. The regulatory framework for QDS is yet to be finalized and implemented in Uganda. In addition, most of the CSBs and LSBs are less than seven years old. The first few years of their operations were mainly dedicated to setting up their governance and operational structures. An evaluation of their performance over the next few years would provide a completer and more comprehensive picture of their performance and the viability of various decentralized services. One notable difference between the QDS system in Uganda and Tanzania is the presence of a coordinating entity. In Uganda, Integrated Seed Sector Development (ISSD) Uganda has actively played the role of a coordinating agency to advance the production of QDS in the country. In Tanzania, such an agency does not exist. As such, many activities in Tanzania are less coordinated.

Seed bank responses after clearcutting Pinus patula plantations in Andean high montane areas

Clear cutting exotic plantations favours natural regeneration processes in which seed banks may play an important role. In Andean high montane areas, after Pinus patula clear cutting, changes in soil pH and litter lead to increased fauna and flora biodiversity. However, the impactof these changes on seed banks remains unknown. The aims of the present study were to understand how seed bank richness, abundance, and composition changes after p. patula clear cutting, and to identify the role of above ground cover, pH and litter cover on these seed bank variations. The study was conducted in three areas with different post-clear cutting ages (0,2.5,4.5 years), a p. patula plantation and in a high Andean forest patch. All these sites were located between 3033 and 3100 m.a.s.l. Seed bank abundance, richness and the number of seeds of the ten most abundant species increased in areas with 2.5 and 4.5 years after clear cutting. Moreover, seed bank composition was different among study areas. These changes were related to increasing above ground vegetation cover and soil pH, and to decreasing litter cover. Seed banks contributed almost exclusively to the recovery of some herbaceous species; were corded only one tree species recruit from the seed banks (Baccharislatifolia) in the forest soils; therefore, the natural regeneration processes may be constrained. Our results high light the need to implement active restoration to accelerate high montane forest recovery in areas previously covered with pine tree plantations.

Establishment and Current Status of Community Seed-Banks

Farmers were organized and trained on crop conservation and management, seed selection. Farmers were organized by District Cooperative office with collaboration to EBI for legal entities The key supporter of CSB is District Agricultural office, District Administration office, District youth and women office, District trade office, District land administration office university, NGO and district cooperative office. The members of executive committee are elected every three year by members. Twenty four CSBs have been established, and crop conservation associations are organized and 6 CSBs were under establishment. Twenty one crop type were conserved.

POTENTIAL CONTAMINATION OF SOYBEAN AGROPHYTOCENOSIS DEPENDING ON THE SYSTEM OF FARMING AND SOIL TILLAGE

This work presents the results of the study of changes of the potential contamination of soybean agrophytocenosis in grain-row crop rotation by using different systems of farming and typical black soil tillage. It was established that in the upper 0–5 cm layer of soil there are on average 393–671 million pieces of weed seeds. which is 33.6–43.0% of the total number in the layer of soil 0–20 cm. It was established that the use of periodical moldboard and superficial basic soil tillage had no impact on reducing the potential contamination of typical black soil compared to the variant of differentiated tillage. During subsurface plowing the total number of seeds in the soil layer 0–20 cm increased by 13.5–25.8% compared to differentiated tillage. In the variants of ecological and biological farming systems the number of weed seeds in the layer 0–5 cm was 11.3–19.6% higher compared to the intensive farming system. Based on monitoring of the species composition of the weed seeds bank it was established that in the arable layer of the soil the largest share are annual dicotyledonous – 48–62%. annual monocotyledonous – 30.2–44.6%. perennial – 0.9–3.3% of the total number. It was proved that under the intensive system of farming the yield of soybean variety Silesia increased on average from 10.2 to 147% compared to the ecological and biological system of farming. During the biological system of farming soybean yield did not exceed 1.0–1.8 t/ha. Therefore. the industrial and ecological system of farming had the greatest impact on reducing the potential weediness of the soybean agrocenosis during the growing season. During the biological system of farming crop yields decrease due to the accumulation of weed seeds in the topsoil and formation of high actual weediness of the soybean agrocenosis.

Regulation of seed germination by diurnally alternating temperatures in disturbance-adapted banana crop wild relatives (Musa acuminata)

AbstractSeed conservation of banana crop wild relatives (Musa L. spp.) is limited because of lack of knowledge about their germination ecology. Musa acuminata Colla, the most important banana crop wild relative, is distributed in tropical and subtropical Asian and Pacific rainforests and colonizes disturbed sites. The role of temperature in stimulating/inhibiting germination to detect disturbance when canopy gaps are formed is not well known. We assessed seed germination thermal requirements of three subspecies of M. acuminata using nine seed accessions which had been stored in the Millennium Seed Bank. Diurnally alternating temperature cycles were almost completely essential for germination compared with constant temperatures. Germination was optimal when the upper temperature of a diurnal cycle was at 35°C; the lower temperature of the cycle was less important. Subspecies occurrence coordinates were used to extract climate temperature data which were then compared against the temperature requirements for germination from our experiment results. Maximum temperatures of the warmest month across subspecies ranges were close to but below optimal germination temperatures, as were diurnal ranges, suggesting soil-warming at the micro-climate level following gap creation is important for M. acuminata seed germination. Additionally, pre-treatment for 3 months at 60% relative humidity at constant 25°C improved germination from 14 ± 10 (mean, standard deviation) to 41 ± 29% suggesting a period in the soil seed bank under the canopy may increase sensitivity to alternating temperature cycles. Overall viability was low (49 ± 28%), and considerable variance was caused by the different accessions. Germination remained somewhat inconsistent.

Diversity of Plants in Thickets of Invasive Sorbaria sorbifolia: Differences in the Effect on Aboveground Vegetation and Seed Bank

The diversity of aboveground vegetation of the herb–dwarf shrub layer and seedlings from the soil seed bank in the thickets of invasive shrub Sorbaria sorbifolia was evaluated in urbanized forests of the city of Yekaterinburg (the Middle Urals, Russia). Geobotanical releves and identification of seedlings from the soil seed bank were performed in different forest communities: thickets of invasive S. sorbifolia, thickets of native Rubus idaeus, and in forest communities without S. sorbifolia and R. idaeus. The effect observed in the presence of S. sorbifolia was as follows: the abundance of aboveground vegetation in the herb–dwarf shrub layer was lower by a factor of 10–20 or more; the taxonomic richness of the herb–dwarf shrub layer in the releve (α-diversity), by a factor of 6–8; and the total number of species recorded in the community group (γ-diversity), by a factor of 3. The disappearance of species under S. sorbifolia was selective. Relatively light-loving and relatively dry-loving species disappeared first, while more shade-loving and moisture-loving species were relatively resistant. The taxonomic richness and abundance of seedlings from the soil seed bank did not change depending on the abundance of S. sorbifolia. Approximately half of the identified seedling taxa were typical forest plants, while the others were only specific for the seed bank and did not occur in the vegetative state. It is concluded that the influence of S. sorbifolia on the vegetation of subordinate layers is due primarily to the direct competitive and habitat-transforming effect of the living S. sorbifolia phytomass.

Safeguarding a global seed heritage from Syria to Svalbard.

Crop diversity underpins food security and adaptation to climate change. Concerted conservation efforts are needed to maintain and make this diversity available to plant scientists, breeders and farmers. Here we present the story of the rescue and reconstitution of the unique seed collection held in the international genebank of International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) in Syria. Being among the first depositors to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, ICARDA managed to safety duplicate more than 80% of its collection before the last staff had to leave the genebank in 2014 because of the war. Based on the safety duplicates, ICARDA since 2015 have rebuilt their collections and resumed distribution of seeds to users internationally from their new premises in Morocco and Lebanon. We describe the multifaceted and layered structure of the global system for the conservation and use of crop diversity that enabled this successful outcome. Genebanks do not work alone but in an increasingly strengthened and experienced multilateral system of governance, science, financial support and collaboration. This system underpins efforts to build sustainable and socially equitable agri-food systems.

Germplasm rescue and rebuilding local seed systems in red zone areas

Native agrobiodiversity become endangered and even lost due to natural disasters in red zone area such as earthquake that hit Nepal on April and May 2015. Endangered agricultural genetic resources should be rescued and revival of disrupted local seed system was essential for sustainable and productive agriculture in earthquake affected areas. The objectives of this paper are to document methods employed to rescue germplasm and rebuild local seed systems in earthquake affected areas to restore lost crop diversity and strengthen local seed systems. Among 14 severely hit districts by April 2015 earthquake in Nepal, 10 districts were selected for germplasm rescue and rebuilding local seed system. We surveyed households and sensitized relevant stakeholders. Earthquake affected areas were declared as red zones and status of crop landraces were assessed through survey, five cell analysis and focus group discussion. Three germplasm rescue techniques, namely direct rescue, diversity fair and indirect rescue were applied. Local seed systems were rebuilt through diversity fair, diversity block, seed exchange, repatriation and diversity kits. Collected accessions were characterized, multiplied and conserved in National Genebank and community seed banks. About 5-10% of total local crop diversity (based on the landraces) were lost due to earthquake in these districts. A total of 921 accessions of 61 crops along with 284 rare and endangered crop landraces were collected and rescued from 35 VDCs of 10 severely earthquake affected districts. Climate analogue sites and climate smart germplasm were identified for some of earthquake affected areas, and five landraces of four crops were repatriated. Participatory seed exchange, diversity fairs and 200 diversity kits (containing 3 to 5 varieties) were employed to revive the local seed systems. Farmers’ preferred landraces were conserved in Community Seed Bank in Lamjung and Dolakha and all collections were conserved in Naional Genebank, Khumaltar, Nepal. The study concludes that multiple approaches and tools are necessary for germplasm rescue and rebuilding local seed systems from red zone area

Effect of seed storing duration and sowing year on the seedling establishment of grassland species in xeric environments

Theavailability of seeds of native species in many countries for grassland restoration is limited; therefore, ex situ seed banks can gain importance as a source of germplasm in the future. We tested the usability of seed accessions of the Pannon Seed Bank for reintroduction with the aim to restore sandy grassland in Hungary. Seeds of 10 native sandy grassland species were seeded in the year of collection and after one or two years of storage. The establishment was estimated by counting seedlings along seeded transects for two vegetation seasons. This study produced the first numerical estimate we know about of native sand grassland species emergence in the field. A low establishment of the tested species was found, ranging from 0.002 to 8%. Within this range, Dianthus serotinus had the highest establishment, while Festuca vaginata, which was sown as matrix species, performed only medium establishment. The short‐term storage (1 or 2 years) of seeds had no significant effect, except for F. vaginata, where seed storage had a positive effect on reintroduction success. The year of seeding had the highest influence on recruitment. Four species were found to emerge over two years instead of only the first year. Based on our results, the weak seed yield of certain years and the low supply of native seeds in the market can be mitigated by using stored seeds. It is recommended to use multi‐year, scheduled seeding to reduce the negative impacts of particularly dry years and to increase the restoration success.

Genetic Diversity Assessment of Selected Annona muricata L. Germplasm in Sri Lanka

Annona muricata L. commonly known as soursop is an underutilized fruit crop species in Sri Lanka gaining much importance in the recent past due to its high nutritional and medicinal value. Soursop germplasm collections are available within the country and assessing the genetic diversity is needed to proceed with conservation, detecting promising lines and breeding programs. This study was conducted to assess the genetic diversity of 50 soursop individuals using Inter-Simple Sequence Repeat (ISSR) markers. The study was conducted at Plant Genetic Resources Centre of the Department of Agriculture in Gannoruwa during 2017 to 2019. DNA of the 50 soursop samples were extracted using CTAB method and Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) was carried using 13 Inter Simple Sequence Repeat (ISSR) Markers. PCR products were visualized using 1.5 percent Agarose gel electrophoresis under the Biorad Gel documentation system and analyzed using POPGENE 1.31. PCR amplified 139 bands from 13 ISSR markers among which 118 were found to be polymorphic. The polymorphic band percentage was 85 percent while as the average number of bands observed (Na) was 1.8489 and the effective allele number (Ne) was 1.5377. The Nei's gene diversity index (h) was 0.3079. The Shannon Information Index (I) found to be 0.4556. Dendrogram constructed based on the UPGMA method clustered the studied accessions into four major clusters at 80 percent similarity level. Results revealed considerable degree of genetic diversity existed within the studied soursop germplasms at Sri Lanka. Existing genetic diversity within soursop individuals will serve as germplasm bank to identify and utilize potential germplasm resources for conservation and future breeding programs to develop quality soursop varieties in Sri Lanka.

In situ and ex situ conservation gap analyses of crop wild relatives from Malawi

The study analysed the conservation gaps of the priority crop wild relatives (CWR) taxa for Malawi in order to contribute to the development of a harmonized conservation strategy that helps secure the priority CWR under in situ and ex situ. We used taxa distribution modelling, complementarity analysis and ecogeographic land characterization map to analyse spatial diversity and distribution of 123 priority taxa across different adaptive scenarios. We identified areas of observed and predicted richness, the minimum number of protected areas (PAs) that conserve the broadest ecogeographic diversity in situ and the minimum number of grid cells that capture highest diversity outside PAs to recommend the establishment of genetic reserves. We then analysed the representativeness of the conserved ecogeographic diversity of target taxa in ex situ collections to identify ex situ conservation gaps and advise for priority areas for ex situ collections. For the 123 taxa, 70.7% of the total diversity occurs in 36 PAs with 66.8% of the diversity captured in only 10 complementary PAs. Outside PAs, the broadest diversity was conserved in three grid cells of size 5 × 5 km. Fifty-three of 123 taxa have ex situ collections with only three taxa having ex situ collections at the Malawi Plant Genetic Resources Centre. The findings of this study will guide formulation of conservation actions for the priority taxa as well as lobbying for active conservation of the same under in situ and ex situ.

Simulated Photovoltaic Solar Panels Alter the Seed Bank Survival of Two Desert Annual Plant Species.

Seed bank survival underpins plant population persistence but studies on seed bank trait-environment interactions are few. Changes in environmental conditions relevant to seed banks occur in desert ecosystems owing to solar energy development. We developed a conceptual model of seed bank survival to complement methodologies using in-situ seed bank packets. Using this framework, we quantified the seed bank survival of two closely related annual desert plant species, one rare (Eriophyllum mohavense) and one common (Eriophyllum wallacei), and the seed bank–environment interactions of these two species in the Mojave Desert within a system that emulates microhabitat variation associated with solar energy development. We tracked 4860 seeds buried across 540 seed packets and found, averaged across both species, that seed bank survival was 21% and 6% for the first and second growing seasons, respectively. After two growing seasons, the rare annual had a significantly greater seed bank survival (10%) than the common annual (2%). Seed bank survival across both species was significantly greater in shade (10%) microhabitats compared to runoff (5%) and control microhabitats (3%). Our study proffers insight into this early life-stage across rare and common congeners and their environmental interactions using a novel conceptual framework for seed bank survival.

Banco de sementes do solo em três fitofisionomias de cerrado no leste de Mato Grosso do Sul

O objetivo do trabalho foi avaliar a composição do banco de sementes do solo de três fitofisionomia do Bioma Cerrado buscando responder as seguintes hipóteses: (1) a diversidade do banco de sementes do solo reflete a diversidade da fitofisionomia nativa ao qual está inserido; (2) o banco de sementes do solo dessas fitofisionomias têm potencial para restauração de áreas degradadas. Para avaliar estatisticamente banco de sementes do solo foi utilizado um delineamento inteiramente casualizado (DIC) com quatro tratamentos e trinta repetições (4 x 30): T1- testemunha (areia lavada e autoclavada); T2- banco de sementes do solo do Cerrado Stricto sensu (CS); T3-banco de sementes do solo do Cerradão (CD); T4- banco de sementes do solo da Mata de Galeria (MG). O banco de sementes do solo apresentou uma representatividade de 1.240 indivíduos, distribuídos nas três áreas. Nesse estudo, rejeita-se a hipótese de que a diversidade do banco de sementes do solo é um reflexo da vegetação ao qual está inserido, sendo evidente uma dissimilaridade do banco de sementes do solo entre as três áreas avaliadas. Sugere-se que essas diferenças encontradas na diversidade florística do banco de sementes do solo podem ser influenciadas pelas perturbações antrópicas de áreas adjacentes e pelas características edafoclimáticas como tipo de solo, umidade e relevo. A segunda hipótese pode ser atendida se o banco de sementes do solo for utilizado para conferir um rápido recobrimento do solo, no entanto, deve ser aliado com enriquecimento de espécies nativas zoocóricas características da vegetação a ser recuperada.

Cryopreservation of Seeds and Seed Embryos in Orthodox-, Intermediate-, and Recalcitrant-Seeded Species.

Seeds are one of the preferable and most used sources of germplasm for the ex situ preservation of plant genetic resources. They are generally stored dry at -20°C in seed banks following international standards. However, some seeds do not tolerate drying and/or storage at -20°C, or present short lifespans at these conditions. For them cryopreservation is indicated for long-term preservation. When seeds tolerate desiccation (i.e., orthodox seeds), they can be dried at about 32±3% relative humidity at 18°C and stored in the vapor phase of liquid nitrogen. This is the method followed in the Millennium Seed Bank of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, for wild species with short lifespans in the standard conditions of seed banks. When seeds do not tolerate desiccation (i.e., recalcitrant seeds) or their tolerance to desiccation and/or -20°C storage is limited (i.e., intermediate seeds), drying and cooling procedures must be adjusted, and often, cryoprotection is also required. Some methods are detailed for diverse species of temperate and tropical origin.

Cryopreservation of Fern Spores and Pollen.

Fern spores and pollen are haploid plant germplasm of microscopic nature that can be used to regenerate full plants through germination (fern spores) or to fertilize seed-bearing plants through breeding programs (pollen). Due to their short life span in conventional storage (i.e., dry at -20°C), the use of cryopreservation has been indicated for long-term ex situ conservation. While fern spores of most species and pollen from many seeded plants tolerate desiccation and can be stored dry at liquid nitrogen temperatures, some pollen is desiccation sensitive, and cryopreservation protocols require controlled drying and cooling and some level of cryoprotection. In this chapter we describe the cryopreservation process for fern spores used in the Millennium Seed Bank of Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, including some details of the fern spores harvest and cleaning methods. In addition, two protocols for pollen cryopreservation are described, one generic for desiccation-tolerant pollen that can be used for multiple species and one specific for a desiccation sensitive pollen (Zea mays).

Pros and cons of using a standard protocol to test germination of alpine species

Storing seeds in seed banks is an effective way to preserve plant diversity and conserve species. An essential step towards a valuable conservation is the validation of germination. This study presents a germination screening of seeds from 255 species of the European Eastern Alps, which were to be stored at the Millennium Seed Bank (Kew, UK). The final germination percentage (FGP) was determined using a standard protocol in the laboratory. Species were classified according to species rarity, plant community, occurrence at elevation belts, bedrock types, as well as CSR strategies, and further, seed mass was examined. We could not find statistically significant differences of FGP within these classes, but 74.9% of all tested species germinated using the standard protocol, and half of them had FGP ≥ 20.1–100%. A treatment with gibberellic acid enhanced the germination in half of the species to which this treatment was applied. Common families in alpine regions, i.e. Asteraceae, Poaceae and Saxifragaceae were highlighted in terms of their germination behaviour. The results provide an evaluation of the application of standard protocols to a broad Alpine species pool on the one hand, and on the other hand, provide ecological insights of the species tested. Germination is not only one of the most important events of the reproductive cycle of plants but could also be a key feature in species' responses to changing environmental conditions.

News from the Australian seed bank partnership: Seed banks respond to the bushfires with collecting, research and restoration

News from the Australian seed bank partnership: Seed banks respond to the bushfires with collecting, research and restoration

Rapid Response to a Tree Seed Conservation Challenge in Hawai‘i Through Crowdsourcing, Citizen Science, and Community Engagement

ABSTRACT Forest ecosystems are vulnerable to disturbances, especially novel, invasive fungal pathogens, which can cause rapid destruction. In such a crisis, it is imperative to respond quickly, and seed banking is a critical strategy to preserve genetic diversity. In Hawaiʻi, forests have been recently threatened by Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death (ROD), a novel fungal disease caused by Ceratocystis lukuohia and C. huliohia, which has killed over a million trees of endemic Metrosideros species. Through the #OhiaLove crowdfunding campaign, over US$50,000 was raised to immediately begin a seed collection and storage program in 2016. In the following years, the project was scaled up to the ROD Seed Banking Initiative, which added a component of training community members to participate in citizen science and contribute seed collections to the project. Collections from over 1100 trees have been stored, representing 6 islands, 13 taxa, and 46 seed zones, and the effort is ongoing. Several critical factors contributed to the success of this initiative, including innovation, timeliness, collaboration, science-based practices, transparency, and community engagement. The ROD Seed Banking Initiative provides a model for rapid response to other tree seed conservation challenges.

Avaliação de ecossistemas florestais – estudo de caso da mata ciliar do Pajeú

Faltam informações básicas sobre as florestas de galeria da Caatinga. Os objetivos do estudo foram obter informações básicas da floresta de galeria do Pajeú (Pernambuco, Brasil) e oferecer diferentes maneiras de restaurá-las e conservá-las. Foi realizada a caracterização do estado de conservação e seu banco de sementes. A caracterização foi feita usando um índice de qualidade (índice QBR) e uma avaliação do uso do solo por meio de imagens de satélite. Em seguida, foi realizado um inventário sobre as plantas nativas das matas ciliares da caatinga, a fim de testar métodos ativos de restauração no campo. Para isso, foi construída uma análise multicritério que incluiu todas as espécies de árvores e arbustos, com base em pesquisas prévias locais e citadas na literatura. Após essa análise, algumas espécies foram cultivadas em um viveiro de plantas para testar sua germinação, sobrevivência e taxas ALde crescimento para diferentes solos e frequências de irrigação. Finalmente, o transplante na floresta de galeria foi avaliado mediante a observação das taxas de sobrevivência e crescimento de diferentes espécies nativas que foram plantadas diretamente na floresta. Nossos resultados mostram que o QBR global foi de 43,73 e que 73% das terras tinham qualidade insuficiente (64%) ou ruim (9%), no entanto algumas áreas mantiveram alta biodiversidade. Foram observadas 23.651 sementes germinadas no banco de sementes, em que a maioria das germinações (53%) veiodo local preservado. Os solos recolhidos durante a estação seca também ofereceram mais plântulas (60%) do que os seus homólogos da estação chuvosa (40%). Quanto à restauração ativa, observou-se que algumas plantas são mais adequadas para viveiros e transplantes de árvores como Sapindus saponaria, Vitex gardneriana e Celtis iguanaea e que, selecionando as plantas e técnicas corretas, o ecossistema pode ser restaurado. Há ainda um longo caminho para a restauração da floresta de galeria do Pajeú. Estudos como este são essenciais para aumentar o conhecimento desse ecossistema. Esta pesquisa servirá como referência para orientar estratégias de manejo/restauração, priorizando ações e o desenvolvimento de políticas públicas de conservação a longo termo que garantam a integridade do ecossistema e suas funções.