Wanted: tree seeds. National seed centre in Fredericton collecting samples

The National Tree Seed Centre in Fredericton is trying to add to its already substantial stockpile of seeds, with varieties that are in short supply, for restoration projects and to prepare for the possibility of poor growing seasons in the years ahead.

The centre collects seeds for 724 tree and shrub species in 1,000 different eco-districts across the country, said co-ordinator Donnie McPhee.

Initially, its focus was to help with research and recovery from things such as insect infestations and wildfires.

But that mission has been evolving, said McPhee, since the federal government created a funding program to plant two billion trees.

Calls have been coming in from people all over the country who are looking for certain species for their planting projects, many of which are in riparian zones or flood plains, he said.

Red maple, elm, and silver maple have been in high demand but "that seed wasn't available."

In some cases, the centre may have seed for the requested species, but not from an appropriate region.

Seed from southern British Columbia might not survive in northern British Columbia, he explained, and communities including Fredericton have had the experience of planting trees that soon died because the gene source wasn't appropriate.

Nevertheless, many communities are having to settle what's available, said McPhee.

And largely, what's available is "tons of conifers."

"The provinces and forest industry do an amazing job with conifer species," he said, which are used for making things like tissue paper and lumber.

The forest industry collects large quantities of seed for its own reclamation and production purposes.

But for the future viability of forests, a broad range of genetics from different species and across each's range is important, he said.

An average trembling aspen, for example, will produce about 1.2 trillion seeds in its lifetime, and only one of them may land on the ground and grow, said McPhee.