Seed bank Kew: the biggest treasure underground (5 photos)

Let's go to England to visit the vault jewels not only for botanists, but for all earthly creatures - Millennium Seed Bank.





The Kew Seed Bank is the largest wild plant seed bank in the world.

So, in West Sussex there is an underground vault where more than 2.4 billion seeds from all over the world are safely protected peace. About 39,000 species are found here, which is about 10% of the total the number of all known and unknown species of flora. It all started in 1996 year when a group of scientists received a grant to create this project and began to collect seeds of wild plants. And in 2000 it was built a modern complex, where the “Seed Bank of the Millennium” is now, operated by a branch of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and is placed. We can say that this bank is the salvation of the entire planets in case of an apocalypse. Seeds are not afraid of any natural disasters, cold stores are located in protected from bombs and indoor radiation. Seeds are quietly waiting in the wings in the frozen form at -20 °C.



The seed bank is open to tourists

Annually, the list of plants listed in the Red Books, replenished. As a result of global warming, deforestation and other factors, many plants have already died out. Scientists estimate that by 2050 a quarter of the world's remaining plant species will be threatened disappearance. Seed banks pay special attention to just representatives of flora on the verge of extinction, which we can germinate and reintroduce into the wild.





Recall that the temperature in the storage is -20°C.

Isn't it great? The current goal of the program is to to ensure the safe maintenance of seeds of 25% of the world's plants suitable for for use in banks. First of all, scientists start with plants, those at greatest risk, and those most useful in the future to create medicines or get food. Unfortunately, the method used in this bank is not suitable for all plants, but also that manages to do - an important brick in the preservation of diversity.



Sorting seeds for storage is a piece of jewelry!

Coming from distant corners of the planet, the seeds are dried, which extends their lifespan. Followed by x-ray quality is determined. What if some seed is empty or damaged? After that, inside glass jars, they go to the underground storage, where they are stored at sub-zero temperatures. Once every 10 years they tested for viability.



cold storage

The Kew Seed Bank is not the only one of its kind, but it is he has the largest collection of seeds of wild plants.