National Seed Bank
Plant Biodiversity and Plant Genetic Resources Directorate
National Agricultural Research Center (NARC)
Dr. Khaled Abulaila/ Director of Biodiversity Research Directorate
Jordanian natural habitatshost a broad-spectrum of plant biodiversity (more than 2600 plant species) resulting from topographic diversity and resulting in the diversity of natural habitats, these habitats have plant species of great importance for food security globally, and of local importance. Jordan is located in the depth of the Mediterranean basin from the eastern side. It is part the Fertile Crescent, where the latter includes two centers of origin (according to the demarcation of Vavilov in 1924), i.e. both the Mediterranean basin and Asia Minor. This means a qualitative richness of Crop Wild Relatives (CWR) that owns resistance genes that can be used to develop resistant food varieties locally and globally, in addition to embracing many adapted local land races or heirloom varieties that was bred through decades in farmers' fields.
Due to the species richness of plant cover and the presence of these genetic resources (GRs) that are important for food and agriculture, the region was and still is a major target of many campaigns of exploration and collection of plant samples from the middle of the 19th century until about the middle of the 20th century by many European botanists, which resulted in production of very important literature and herbal and seed collections of great importance because of the uniqueness of currently unparalleled genotypes. These species include wild relatives and local landraces of wheat, barley, lentils, chickpeas and many other important plant genetic resources for food and agriculture.
Therefore, theconservation of such genetic resources should be a global priority before beinglocal as they contain the resistance genes necessary to keep pace with agricultural developments such as drought, field pests and climate change. In addition to the presence of a huge number of local landraces with high adaptation to Jordanian local environments resulting from the Jordanian farmer's efforts in his land and using traditional methods of selecting locally desirable traits adaptation and of different qualitative traits, which makes these landraces a national heritage to be preserved for future generations. In addition to the above, the local knowledge associated with these species, whether cultivated, such as local landraces, collected and harvested from the wild, such as many of the so-called wild food plants, shall be documented because they are thekey to use these species.
In order to protect these resources from different threats, seed banks have proven globally to be the best in terms of management, and economically in terms of the area required to preserve the largest number of species. At the local level, the national seed bank of Jordan was established at the National Agricultural Research Center in 1993 and began work in 1996. The bank has different sets of accessions, including 1,532 accessionsof local landraces (farmer varieties), 1,558 wild relatives of crop plants (commercial varieties) of the highest global importance, as well as several medicinal plants (294 accessions) and pastoral shrubs (49 accessions). On the other hand, the herbarium at NARCwas established at the National Agricultural Research Center accompanied by the establishment of a seed bank with the purpose of preserving complete dried herbal specimens of the collected plants for species verification and for taxonomic studies and change in vegetation coverover time. Many of these specimens would have been lost if the National Agricultural Research Center had not preserved and classified them according to the standard methods adopted globally. The collection of oldestherb s in the National Seed Bank herbarium goes back to the end of 1800 AD. The collection includes herbarium specimens of crop wild relatives, such as lentils, chickpeas and barley Fig. No. (1), which goes back to 1903 and the wild relative of hard wheat, which goes back to 1913 AD. On the other hand, the oldest live seed collection conserved in the National Seed Bank date back to 1927 and from a local landrace of bread wheat, where the accessions material are continuously renewed to maintain high viabilityand purity.
Fig No. (1) Historical herbarium specimens of Wild Relatives of Chickpeas and Barley Dating back to 1903
Main objective: The National Seed Bank aims at conservation of the native plant heritage with a focus on plant genetic resources for food and agriculture within three main priorities: Local landraces, crop wild relatives and wild food plants. All of the collected material documented in a continuously updated database within the international standards that serve as a platform for the exchange of information at the local and overseas levels.
Detailed objectives:
Preserve and make available breeding material husbandry sample incorporating that includes the genetic variation in local accessions of from seeds from genetic resources related to food and agriculture local inputsagriculture, and for the ecosystem restorationhabilitation.
Characterize and evaluate genetic resources and provide usable breeding material to develop adapted varieties and contribute to local and global food security.
Carry out research in the field of both optimal conservation conditions of seeds; and plant tissues in liquid nitrogen and conduct various tests of seeds before storage.
Conduct studies on vegetation cover and its change, restoration and management of rangeland and forest.
Act as a clearinghouse for plant genetic resources and associated information regionally and globally within the frameworks of the agreements and in coordination with local and global partners.
Document information on plant genetic resources In Situ and Ex Situ and make relevant information available to users locally and globally within global standards.
The Provided Services
Make plant genetic material available as seeds to users (especially researchers and crop breeders) locally and globally in accordance with the terms and conditions of local legal frameworks and approved international agreements.
Provide researchers, including plant breeders, etc. locally, regionally and globally with information accompanying plant genetic resources, including passport data, characterization and/or evaluation information, and ensure legal frameworks for information exchange.
Provide herbarium material, including herbarium specimens and references in the field of plant taxonomy and evolution and change cover and any information needed to verify taxa of seed accessions.
Provide the service of classification of plant specimens received from local and regional institutions.
Conduct baseline studies and floral surveys of newly declared range land reserves and environmental impact assessment studies (EIA).
Provide the necessary guidance, mentoring and technical support to graduate researchers from local or foreign institutes.
Train on different aspects of conservation, optimal utilization and binding agreements related to plant genetic resources.
The National Seed Bank consists of several divisions: Seeds and Tissues Division, Biodiversity Characterization and multiplication of accessions Division, Biodiversity of Rangeland and ForestDivision, and Documentation and Databases Division. The Bank and all its accompanying facilities perform their assigned tasks in partnership with many local and international partners, taking into account the provisions of relevant international agreements, such as the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
Seed Bank Divisions
Seeds and Tissues.
Biodiversity Characterization and multiplication of accessions.
Biodiversity of Rangeland and Forests.
Documentation and Databases.
