![]() ![]() And with room for 2.5 billion seeds, even with today's 642 million stored, it is only a quarter full after more than a decade. When it opened in February 2008, 112 million seeds were deposited. That is the reason the vault was opened in Svalbard - a second ultimate line of defense in the distant arctic permafrost where genebanks can store duplicate seeds. But if they fail for reasons as simple as power outages or as complex as war, those seeds can be quickly lost. Regional genebanks are the first line of defense. That biodiversity is vital for developing crop varieties that can withstand pests and diseases in addition to being able to bounce back from near-extinction events. With numerous species threatened by climate change, natural disasters, or man-made disasters, the risk of permanent extinction and/or loss of critical biodiversity is ever-present. The "doomsday vault" exists to serve as backup storage for plant genebanks all around the world, especially for food crops. ![]() *Svalbarði, climate change, and biodiversity *When have seeds been deposited and withdrawn from the vault? *Where around the world do the seeds come from? *Hallucinogens yes, GMOs (most likely) no Relative number of seeds in the vault by country. The largest number of seeds come from India at 95 million. 76 institutions with seeds from 223 different countries and territories have made deposits in the vault. Including hallucinogenic plants such as cannabis and opium, though no GMOs. The rest of the roughly 6000 species are a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, herbs, and other plants. The vault has a particular focus on food crops, so 69% of the seeds are grains (rice the biggest at 85 million) and 9% legumes. The Svalbard Global Seed Vault contains 642 million seeds and has the ability to hold up to 2,5 billion. Few people know what seeds are actually inside, so we decided to find out the facts by combing through operator NordGen's detailed Seed Portal database. ![]() Looking out the back door of Svalbarði's headquarters we can see the famous Svalbard Global Seed Vault right up the hill. ![]()
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