Permafrost seed bank

Russia is testing a seed storage facility that relies entirely on natural cold conditions to save electricity in Yakutia.

Plant seeds can survive in cold and dry environments for a long time. The majority of seed storage facilities in the world today use artificial refrigeration systems to maintain the desired temperature. However, their disadvantages are the large power demand and the risk of losing control in the event of a power outage. An alternative strategy is to rely solely on natural cold without using any machines or mechanisms.

The seed bank beneath the permafrost in Yakutia in the Russian Far East is an example. This 30-year experimental project is carried out by the Institute for Biological Problems Cryolithozone (IBPC) and the Melnikov Permafrost Research Institute (MPI) with the support of the Yakutia authorities and the Academy of Sciences. study Russian.

Inside the seed storage in the permafrost of Yakutia. (Photo: Reuters)

MPI completed the construction of the seed bank in November 2012. The facility consists of surface buildings, an elevator system and a storage room 32m long, 4m wide and located at a depth of 9-11m underground. The surrounding frozen soil has a natural temperature of -2.5°C.

Studies indicate that temperatures between -6°C and -8°C are optimal for maintaining seed viability and genetic integrity. Therefore, the storage needs additional cooling. Ambient air is a readily available source of cold, as its temperature in winter becomes colder than the ground.

This additional cooling system is based on natural air convection. During the summer, the temperature in the warehouse remains controlled by accumulating winter cold on the frozen soil near the surface.

The storage uses permafrost and natural air to preserve seeds. (Photo: MPI)

Initially, the facility will host a collection of indigenous seeds in Yakutian, but in the future it will grow into a national seed bank. Currently, more than 11,000 acres of seeds of both agricultural and wild plants are preserved here.

"The Yakutia seed warehouse has a significant capacity to expand. Therefore, it can compete with similar foreign facilities," the Yakutia government emphasized in a press release.