Seed Banking

"To plant 1 trillion trees, we’ll need at least 3 trillion seeds.
We cannot address climate change without also restoring biodiversity, but ecosystem loss is making it harder to sustainably harvest wild seeds. If we want to fulfill the world’s restoration potential in ten years, we need thousands of seed banks to address native seed supply shortages."
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— Dr. Marian Chau, Terraformation’s Head of Seed Banking

Why Is Seed Banking Critical?
‍Restoration of native forests is our best hope for reversing climate change, but wild seeds are urgently becoming a more limited resource. This seed supply shortage is an increasing challenge to ecosystem restoration, but seed banking can address bottlenecks in native seed availability and diversity.

Specifically, seed banking can help:

Accelerate the restoration of biodiverse forest ecosystems
‍Biodiverse, native forest ecosystems absorb many times more carbon than monoculture tree plantations. Even if we dramatically slash emissions over the next 10 years, we’ll need to clean up the carbon that’s already out there.
Prevent the extinction of tree species
There are nearly 60,000 tree species on Earth today. One-third of them are at risk of extinction, according to the 2021 State of the World’s Trees report.
Speed the regrowth of native forests destroyed by wildfires
The longer it takes to replant after a fire, the more likely it is that invasive species will take over, altering the ecosystem, and in many cases making it more vulnerable to future fires.

What Is Seed Banking?
‍Seed banking is the practice of cleaning, drying, storing, and testing seeds, using methods that preserve seed viability, so they can be used in the future. Without storage conditions that regulate temperature and humidity, many seeds lose viability within one year of collection.

Key steps in the seed banking process include:

Cleaning
Drying under controlled conditions
Proper storage
Testing for viability
Withdrawal for planting

Ready to Start Seed Banking?
Learn more about seed banking practices with Terraformation Academy and our Knowledge Base. For more personalized support, sign up for our Consultation Service. You can also use our DIY Seed Bank Build Guide to create your own seed bank. If you’d like to purchase a seed bank, request a quote here.