The conservation value of germplasm stored at the Millennium Seed Bank, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK

The Millennium Seed Bank (MSB) at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, houses one of the world's largest ex situ conservation programs for orthodox seed-bearing wild plants, encompassing 39,669 taxa from 189 countries and all nine biogeographic regions. A comprehensive analysis reveals that 74% of these collections possess significant natural capital or population value, including economic, ecological, social, cultural, or scientific importance. Additionally, over 20% are endemic to their respective regions. Since its inception in 2000, the MSB has distributed more than 11,182 seed samples globally for conservation, research, education, and display. The study identifies gaps in geographic representativeness, taxonomic diversity within large angiosperm families, and coverage of threatened taxa, underscoring the need for further analysis to optimize future collection efforts.

Liu, U., Breman, E., Cossu, T. A., & Kenney, S. (2018). The conservation value of germplasm stored at the Millennium Seed Bank, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK. Biodiversity and Conservation, 27(6), 1347–1386. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-018-1497-y