Seed banking not an option for over a third of threatened species

Researchers detail for the first time the scale of threatened species that are unable to be conserved in seed banks. The paper reveals that when looking at threatened species, 36 percent of 'critically endangered' species produce recalcitrant seeds. This means they can't tolerate the drying process and therefore cannot be frozen, the key process they need to go through to be safely 'banked.'

Currently, seed banking is the most commonly practiced way of conserving plants outside of their natural habitats. Seed banking works as an 'insurance policy' against the extinction of plants in the world -- especially for those that are rare, endemic and economically important -- so that they can be protected and utilised for the future.This type of 'ex-situ' conservation is preferred for a number of reasons: it allows for the preservation of high levels of genetic diversity at relatively low cost in minimal space and can be kept for comparatively long periods.However, this doesn't work for all seeds and this new paper suggests there is a huge knowledge gap of knowing which of the world's most rare, endemic and economically important plants are not suitable for conservation in seed banks. To estimate for the first time the extent of the problem, Wyse and Dickie developed a set of models to predict the likely seed storage behaviour of species.