First assessment of brush‐harvested native seed mixes in southern Brazilian grasslands
Francieli Peter‐da‐Silveira, Graziela Har Minervini‐Silva, Thiago Rambo Martins, Isadora Machado da Silva, Antonela Rech Seelig, Rodrigo Dutra‐Silva, Fábio Piccin Torchelsen, Sandra Cristina Müller, Carlos Nabinger, Gerhard Ernst OverbeckAbstract
Introduction
The restoration of grassland ecosystems in southern Brazil remains limited by the absence of a structured supply chain for native seeds and seedlings.
Objectives
Here, we present the first evaluation in Brazil of mechanized, multi‐species seed harvesting from native grassland remnants using a brush harvester. We assessed the species richness and abundance of the harvested seed mixes, evaluated their emergence potential, and discussed next steps for research and practical applications of harvested seed mixes in grassland restoration.
Methods
The harvests were conducted at different sites during the spring: three in November 2022 and one in November 2023. Samples of 5 g were sorted in the laboratory (including separation, identification, and counting), and 5 g were used for greenhouse emergence tests.
Results
Across sorting and emergence, we recorded 81 species, up to 759 seeds/g, and high seedling emergence in greenhouse tests, up to 303.3 seedlings/g on average.
Conclusion
These results demonstrate that brush harvesting has strong potential to collect propagules with high emergence capacity in southern Brazilian grasslands.