Preferred term
seed bank
Is replaced by
Definition
- [Henderson's] a conservation collection of seeds of wild plant species and cultivated varieties, usually of important crop plants, kept in long-term storage, usually freezedried under liquid nitrogen. , "A seedbank stores seeds as a source for planting in case seed reserves elsewhere are destroyed. It is a type of gene bank. The seeds stored may be food crops, or those of rare species to protect biodiversity. The reasons for storing seeds may be varied. In the case of food crops, many useful plants that were developed over centuries are now no longer used for commercial agricultural production and are becoming rare. Storing seeds also guards against catastrophic events like natural disasters, outbreaks of disease, or war. Unlike seed libraries or seed swaps that encourage frequent reuse and sharing of seeds, seedbanks are not typically open to the public.
Broader concept
Entry terms
- seed banks
Scope note
- US LTER controlled vocabulary
Contributor
- nsb@ceh.ac.uk@ceh.ac.uk
Creator
- herbert.schentz@umweltbundesamt.at
URI
http://vocabs.lter-europe.net/EnvThes/USLterCV_494