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American Beachgrass (Ammophila breviligulata Fern.) along the New Jersey Coast
production along rhizome nodes (Maun, 1984, 1985, 2009). The aboveground biomass of A. breviligulata captures and accumulates windblown
sand, promoting dune formation, while underground biomass prevents
dune erosion. As dunes accrete, additional plant species colonize, and A.
breviligulata prevalence gradually declines due to a mix of factors, including reduced sand accretion, root pathogen load, and shifts in mycorrhizal
interactions (Maun, 2009).
Restoration plantings of A. breviligulata are typically conducted using
single cultivar plantings of asexually propagated nursery stock, often of
nonlocal provenance. In New Jersey, located on the northeastern Atlantic
coast of the United States, the ‘‘Cape’’ variety (originally collected from
Cape Cod, Massachusetts) is most commonly planted, following its selection for aboveground vigor, large leaf size, and ease of propagation in the
1970s by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Natural Resources
Conservation Service, Cape May Plant Materials Center (Gaffney, 1977).
However, success with ‘‘Cape’’ plantings has been mixed; for example, a
beach renourishment project in the early 1990s in Avalon, New Jersey, saw
a return of maritime forest (Nordstrom et al., 2002) to 100% plant mortality after 2 years at Sandy Hook National Recreation Area (NRA), New
Jersey (Miller and Skaradek, undated). Lack of sand accretion is often cited
as the reason for restoration failure, but a combination of biotic and abiotic
factors (Maun, 2009) and the use of genetically inappropriate cultivars in
these plantings (Falk et al., 2006; Montalvo et al., 1997; Rice and Emery,
2003) might also play a role.
While dune restorations in New Jersey have emphasized rapid stabilization of constructed dunes, restoration practice is increasingly focused
on restoring ecological services and function (Palmer, 2009; Ritchie and
Krauss, 2012; Suding, 2011; Wortley, Hero, and Howes, 2013; Zedler,
Dohery, and Miller, 2012). Utilizing and conserving native genetic diversity within restoration populations are central components of this shift.
Intrapopulation genetic diversity, particularly in foundation or dominant
species, enhances population performance, community-level diversity, and
the development of ecosystem services (Hughes et al., 2008; Montalvo et
al., 1997; Rice and Emery, 2003). Genetically diverse populations have
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outperformed monotypic and low-diversity populations on measures such
as aboveground biomass (Cook-Patton et al., 2011; Crawford and Rudgers,
2012; Crutsinger et al., 2006; Kotowska, Cahill, and Keddie, 2010; Wang
et al., 2012), survival time (Kotowska, Cahill, and Keddie, 2010; Reynolds, McGlathery, and Waycott, 2012), rate of multiplication and spread
(Reynolds, McGlathery, and Waycott, 2012; Wang et al., 2012; Williams,
2001), and patch size and competitive ability (Wang et al., 2012). On a
community level, intrapopulation genetic diversity in dominant or foundation plant species enhanced plant diversity (Fridley and Grime, 2010;
Fridley, Grime, and Bilton, 2007) and invertebrate density and diversity (Cook-Patton et al., 2011; Hughes et al., 2008; Kotowska, Cahill, and
Keddie, 2010; Moreira and Mooney, 2013; Reynolds, McGlathery, and
Waycott, 2012), increased resistance to stress and disturbance (Hughes and
Stachowicz 2004, 2009, 2011), accelerated ecosystem recovery after climate shifts (Reusch et al., 2005), and enhanced ecosystem services such
as nutrient cycling, decomposition, and nutrient retention (Hughes et al.,
2008; Reynolds, McGlathery, and Waycott, 2012). In addition, coastal
sand dunes are spatially heterogeneous environments (Maun, 2009), prone
to disturbance (Ehrenfeld, 1990), and sensitive to climate change (National
Research Council, 2010; van der Meulen and Salman, 1996). Intrapopulation genetic diversity might increase the ability of plant populations to
adapt and persist under these conditions (Gibson et al., 2012; Montalvo et
al., 1997; Rice and Emery, 2003).
Another important consideration in ecological restoration is the use of locally sourced restoration propagules to maintain locally adapted genotypes
and avoid introducing maladapted or overly competitive nonlocal genotypes
(Bischoff, Steinger, and Müller-Schărer, 2010; McKay et al., 2005; Montalvo et al., 1997). In restorations of Ammophila sp., displacement of native
genotypes through intraspecific competition is a serious concern. Michigan
A. breviligulata plants used to restore Minnesota dunes outperformed Minnesota plants in field and common-garden experiments on a number of
growth and sexual reproductive measures, including above-ground growth
rate and size, fertile culm size, and flowering frequency (Holmstrom, Etterson, and Schimpf, 2010). This is particularly important for A. breviligulata

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