Kew Seed Bank

Kew Seed Bank
Name	Kew Seed Bank
Formation	1987
Type	Conservation repository
Headquarters	Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Location	Richmond, London
Leader title	Director
Leader name	Richard Deverell
Parent organisation	Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

Kew Seed Bank is a long-term ex situ plant conservation repository based at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in Richmond, London. It stores seeds from wild and cultivated plants to safeguard biodiversity threatened by habitat loss, climate change, and invasive species. The facility works alongside international frameworks to support restoration, research, and policy for plant conservation worldwide.

History

The Seed Bank began formalizing seed banking activities at Kew in the late 20th century, building on collecting traditions established by Joseph Dalton Hooker and the plant exchanges of the Victorian era. Early collaborations linked Kew with institutions such as the Millennium Seed Bank Partnership, Royal Society initiatives, and projects supported by the Wellcome Trust and Natural Environment Research Council. Milestones include expansion during the 1990s with funding from the United Kingdom government and philanthropic support from the Prince of Wales's environmental programmes. Strategic partnerships with entities such as the United Nations Environment Programme, the Convention on Biological Diversity, and the Global Crop Diversity Trust shaped its modern role. Over time the Seed Bank incorporated protocols influenced by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and standards from the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture.

Mission and Objectives

The Seed Bank’s mission aligns with objectives articulated by organizations including the United Nations and the Convention on Biological Diversity: to conserve plant genetic diversity, enable ecological restoration, and underpin scientific research. Objectives include ex situ conservation for taxa listed by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, provision of germplasm for restoration projects like those led by the World Wildlife Fund and Conservation International, and contribution to global targets such as the Aichi Biodiversity Targets and the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework. The Seed Bank also supports agricultural resilience through links to the Food and Agriculture Organization and seed systems engaged with the Global Crop Diversity Trust.

Collections and Facilities

Collections comprise wild-collected seeds, crop wild relatives, and material from botanical gardens including the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and Kew’s Wakehurst site. Specimens are accessioned with metadata standards used by the Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland and exchanged through networks like the Global Biodiversity Information Facility and the National Plant Monitoring Scheme. Facilities include long-term cryopreservation freezers, drying rooms meeting International Plant Genetic Resources Institute-style standards, and high-throughput seed-cleaning suites modeled after protocols at the Svalbard Global Seed Vault and National Center for Genetic Resources Preservation. The Seed Bank houses voucher specimens linked to herbarium collections at the Natural History Museum, London and digital records integrated with the Kew Science Herbarium and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds databases.

Seed Conservation Methods

Conservation follows orthodox seed storage protocols established by researchers at institutions like the Seed Conservation Department and laboratories influenced by work at the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney and the Australian PlantBank. Methods include desiccation to target moisture content, viability testing using tetrazolium techniques refined by the Seed Testing International community, and periodic germination assays following guidelines from the International Seed Testing Association. For recalcitrant seeds, the Seed Bank employs cryopreservation methods developed in collaboration with the John Innes Centre and the Centraalbureau voor Schimmelcultures (now Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute), and tissue culture approaches adapted from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney protocols. Data management uses collection management systems similar to those at the Natural History Museum, Vienna and the New York Botanical Garden.

Research and Partnerships

Research programs investigate seed longevity, dormancy physiology, and germination ecology in collaboration with universities such as University College London, the University of Oxford, the University of Cambridge, the University of Edinburgh, and the University of Melbourne. Projects involve partners like the Millennium Seed Bank Partnership, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, the Zoological Society of London, and international botanical gardens including the Jardin des Plantes and the Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney. The Seed Bank contributes to multi-institutional studies funded by bodies such as the Wellcome Trust, the Natural Environment Research Council, the European Union Horizon 2020 programme, and the Global Environment Facility. Collaborative fieldwork spans regions with partners like Botanical and Zoological Society of South Africa, the National Biodiversity Centre (Bhutan), and the South African National Biodiversity Institute.

Outreach and Education

Public engagement includes exhibitions at Kew Gardens and educational programmes run with the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew education team, schools linked to the Forest Schools movement, and outreach with NGOs like Greenpeace and The Wildlife Trusts. The Seed Bank contributes to citizen science initiatives coordinated with the National Trust, the British Ecological Society, and the Royal Horticultural Society. Training courses for conservation practitioners are offered alongside academic partners such as the Royal Agricultural University and the Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland, and policy dialogues involve stakeholders from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the European Environment Agency.

Governance and Funding

Governance is embedded within the institutional framework of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew under the oversight of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and board-level trustees that include representatives linked to the Natural History Museum, London and advisors from the Royal Society. Funding sources include grants from the Wellcome Trust, the National Lottery Heritage Fund, project funds from the European Union, philanthropic support from entities such as the Prince’s Charities and corporate partnerships, and competitive awards from research councils including the Natural Environment Research Council and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council.

Category:Conservation