Plant Conservation Case study: Svalbard Seed Vault

What is conservation? Protecting land and its resources so future generations can use them Why should we conserve plant species? – all life depends on plant species Food and medicine Oxygen Habitat Building materials

Plant Conservation Statistics: Over 8000 plant species worldwide that are threatened with extinction Between 25 – 50% of all the world’s plant species are declining (growing smaller) How do we conserve plants? – Creating national parks or protected areas – Remove non-native plants (plants that are not naturally found in a certain area) and replace with native species – SAVE PLANT SEEDS

Plant Conservation in South America Tropical Andes Region – species of vascular plants 10% of the world’s species Almost 50% of these are endemic (found nowhere else on Earth) Threats: Oil Deforestation Exploration for other resources Invasive species (non-native)

Svalbard Seed Vault “Doomsday vault” Vault (safe room) in Norway created to protect the world’s crop species (grown for human use) against natural and human disasters Idea is to save this genetic information in the seeds for the future

Svalbard Seed Vault – inside! As part of the one-year anniversary of the Seed Vault, Colombia and many other countries contributed more seed samples this past year, bringing the total number of samples to and 20 million seeds altogether. ARRIVAL OF SEEDS FROM COLOMBIA

More images from the outside to the inside… Storage shelving units Doors to the vault

IDEAS!? THOUGHTS? Do you think the seed vault is a good idea? Why or why not? Want to find out more information? Click here!