Concept

Seed bank

Also known as: Gene bank, Germplasm collection, Seed library

An institutional collection of seeds preserved for long-term genetic conservation. Seeds are dried to low moisture, sealed in airtight containers, and stored at sub-freezing temperatures, where viability can persist for decades to centuries depending on species. Seed banks range from global institutions (Svalbard Global Seed Vault, Kew Millennium Seed Bank, USDA-ARS National Plant Germplasm System) to community-scale seed libraries operated by public libraries and seed-savers. Together they preserve the genetic substrate of crop diversity and wild plant species against permanent loss.

How seed banks work

Long-term seed preservation requires two interventions:

Drying — seeds are dried to ~5% moisture content. Lower moisture dramatically slows the metabolic processes that age seeds.
[[root-cellaring|Cold storage]] — typically -18°C to -20°C (standard “long-term” storage). Some species (recalcitrant seeds: cocoa, oak, mango, many tropical species) cannot survive freezing or drying and require alternative methods (in-situ field genebanks, cryopreservation of embryos).

Properly stored, dried-and-frozen seeds of most crop species remain viable for decades to centuries. Periodic regrowing (every 10-30 years depending on species) refreshes the collection by producing new seed.

Levels of seed banking

Global — [[svalbard-global-seed-vault|Svalbard Global Seed Vault]] (Norway, opened 2008); the world’s “backup” seed bank, holding duplicates of seed from collections worldwide. See [[svalbard-global-seed-vault]].
National — most countries operate at least one national gene bank. The USDA-ARS National Plant Germplasm System maintains over 600,000 accessions across multiple specialized collections.
Regional — multi-country institutions; the Vavilov Research Institute (Russia), CIMMYT (Mexico, wheat and maize), IRRI (Philippines, rice), CIAT (Colombia, beans and tropical crops)
NGO and nonprofit — Seed Savers Exchange (Iowa), Native Seeds/SEARCH (Arizona), Navdanya (India), the Bauta Initiative (Canada). See [[seed-savers-exchange]], [[native-seeds-search]], [[navdanya]].
Community seed libraries — public libraries and community organizations operate ~600+ seed libraries in the U.S. alone, with thousands more worldwide. Library patrons “borrow” seeds for one growing season and return saved seeds to the library.
Household seed-keeping — the original form of seed banking; individual gardeners and farmers maintaining their own seed collections

Why seed banking matters

Insurance against loss — variety loss is permanent without preserved seed. Seed banks prevent permanent extinction of crop [[genetic-diversity|genetic diversity]].
Plant-breeding source material — every modern plant-breeding program depends on accessing [[genetic-diversity|genetic diversity]] preserved in seed banks
Climate adaptation — as climate shifts, varieties from regions of similar future climate become directly relevant; seed banks make them accessible
Disease resistance — when crop diseases emerge (Irish potato blight, banana Panama disease, wheat stem rust), resistance genes are usually found in landraces and wild relatives preserved in seed banks
Cultural preservation — community seed libraries preserve culturally-significant varieties that commercial banks may not prioritize

Limits

Seed banks are not a complete solution:

Recalcitrant species — many tropical crops cannot be seed-banked at all
Living vs. frozen — frozen seeds preserve genetics but not the active selection that landraces undergo on working farms; seed banks are static, communities are dynamic
Access — seed-bank accessibility varies; some collections are research-only
Climate vulnerability — physical infrastructure can fail (the 2017 Svalbard tunnel flood was a warning); decentralized storage matters

Sources

Seeds of Resistance, Mark Schapiro (2018)
Crop Trust / Global Crop Diversity Trust published materials
USDA-ARS National Plant Germplasm System documentation

Rooted in life.

What links here, and how

Inbound connections from across the wiki, grouped by lens and by relationship. These appear automatically — every entity page declares what it links to, and that data populates here on the targets.

Scientific

substrate of

Genetic diversity seed banks preserve genetic diversity at institutional scale

Practical

subset of

Native Seeds/SEARCH regional seed bank focused specifically on Greater Southwest Indigenous and traditional varieties
Seed Savers Exchange operates as both a working seed bank and an active member-exchange community
Svalbard Global Seed Vault the world's largest seed bank; the global backup-storage facility for national and international gene-bank collections

Cultural