Seed bombs from the sky could restore NZ's native plants

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2025-02-24 03:00

New Zealand

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Seeds distributed from aircraft have been used to restore forests and grasslands for decades, but NZ researchers have now studied how well this could work with our native species. They collected, processed, and stored hundreds of thousands of seeds from 11 species of native plants, then studied a small sample to see if they were likely to grow. The rest were placed into balls made of materials like clay or sphagnum moss, as they would be for aerial distribution, and planted. Although putting seeds into seed balls generally reduced their ability to sprout, about 20% of the balls produced seedlings. The scientists say that with refinement, seed balls could help establish native plants across large areas.