, 2005 and Dick et al., 2008). Outbreeding depression seems most likely to be a risk when high quantities of FRM are introduced from environments that are very different from the local one (Frankham et al., 2011). In light of current uncertainties, it is necessary to carefully weigh the risk

of outbreeding depression against the risk that on-going loss of genetic diversity poses to the long-term persistence of populations (McKay et al., 2005, Edmands, 2007 and Sgrò et al., 2011). The true risk of outbreeding depression in restoration activities should be tested through experimental research (Breed et al., 2013). Planning for the expected impacts learn more of climate change complicates the choice of seed sources for restoration. Climate change will have a strong impact on many restoration sites (Hobbs et al 2009), yet currently few restoration practitioners appear to consider climate predictions in their design (Sgrò et al., 2011 and Bozzano et al., 2014). Degraded forest sites typically constitute tough environments for seedling establishment and growth. When the climate simultaneously becomes harsher, natural

or planted propagules experience even stronger selection pressure. Tree species generally have high genetic variation in adaptive traits, constituting latent adaptive potential which is expressed only when conditions change (Gamache and Payette, 2004, O’Neill et al., 2008, Doi et Gefitinib chemical structure al., 2009, Thompson et al., 2010, Mata et al., 2012 and Alfaro et al., 2014). Intuitively, the gene pool of surviving trees on sites that are already affected by climate change could provide useful seed sources for sites with conditions that are currently less extreme, but still nearing the edge of a species’ tolerance. This is because such residual trees may be better adapted to the extreme conditions. However, the identification and selection of appropriate sources of

FRM for a given restoration site should ideally be guided by the strength of the interaction between genotype performance and current and future environmental conditions (genotype-by-environment, Carbohydrate G × E interactions), which are studied using multi-location progeny or provenance trials and climate modelling, respectively (Sgrò et al., 2011). Globally, some 700 tree species are subject to some level of improvement, including provenance and/or progeny testing (FAO, 2014). Such tests can help identify planting sources that are adapted to a particular site and the range within which reproductive material of a species can be moved without significant loss of adaptation (ecological tolerance limits).