The potential of seedbank digital information in plant conservation

Plants People Planet, Год журнала: 2025, Номер unknown

Опубликована: Апрель 4, 2025

Societal Impact Statement Seedbanks are vital for biodiversity conservation, but their potential remains underutilised due to a limited understanding of the intraspecific genetic diversity they hold. By leveraging digitised data associated with seedbank collections, such as sampling locations, number maternal plants and seed traits, we can attempt estimation variation identify gaps in enabling better prioritisation species conservation efforts. These advancements inform policy targets like those Kunming‐Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, promoting more effective strategies. Digitisation emerging machine‐learning technologies offer scalable, cost‐efficient solutions enhance knowledge, ensuring resilience future generations. Summary Seedbank collections hold significant untapped advancing science practice, (i.e. within species) stored worldwide largely unknown, hindering use seeds both informing implementing situ interventions. As producing is time‐consuming expensive, other greatly our when unavailable. Information location sites, estimated population size mother from which were collected facilitate captured collections. This information also be used estimate effort required fill represent diversity, through comparison existing baselines where characterised, simulations. makes approaches above practicable at scale. In addition, digital images themselves may phenotypic can, therefore, prioritise populations studies. this article, explore made available by seedbanks improving preserved We describe possible improvements that might predictive power studies, discuss challenges opportunities these.

Язык: Английский

Looking back to look ahead: the temporal dimension of conservation seed bank collections

New Phytologist, Год журнала: 2025, Номер unknown

Опубликована: Май 6, 2025

Summary A wealth of plant material and data is stored globally in conservation seed banks. This represents not only a repository genetic resources but also an asset for nature‐based solutions (NbS), such as ecological restoration reforestation, research science. Here, we explore the temporal spatial dimensions collections challenges limiting their use NbS research, while highlighting how they could be source adaptation evolution studies. However, existing lots originally collected purposes will sufficient to support on own. We propose long‐term experimental approach that, together with new targeted collecting programmes, can leverage dimension by carrying out repeated sampling from same population. At time, stress these approaches benefit dedicated holding seeds each maternal line separately. By moving towards bidimensional (space time) approach, banks go beyond per se transform into dynamic repositories capable addressing pressing ecological, evolutionary, questions help understand shape communities future.

Язык: Английский