Living Seed Bank

The Living Seed Bank is a multi-faceted ongoing program for the preservation of the biodiversity of Madre de Dios.  The program is based at our center in Baltimori, on the Tambopata River in the buffer zone of the Tambopata National Reserve.   The primary focus of the Seed Bank is on trees:

1. We identify and propagate the greatest possible variety of economically important tree species (for timber, medicines, fruits, nuts, building materials, flowers, etc.), with 150 species planted to date.  Some of these trees are familiar while others have never been domesticated. 

2. We work toward the preservation of the genetic diversity within key species of endangered and over-exploited trees (primarily timber species) through the Camino Verde Heritage Tree Species.  Each Heritage Species consists of over 50 individual trees (and in some cases 200 or more), to create a diverse and healthy genetic stock from which to draw seed for future reforestation.  As wild populations of many of these species erode due to irresponsible harvesting, the Living Seed Bank ensures healthy genetic resources for each of these trees. 

3. As many of the trees we plant have never been planted in a cultivated setting, we carry out ongoing evaluation of growth rates and productivity, with the aim of identifying species that could become commercially important as alternative crops for small farmers.

For more information, please read on… 

In Baltimori, Camino Verde plants many different kinds of trees-- 150 species to date.  "Food forests" form just one part of a broader web of planted zones.  Similar management is employed in “medicinal forests” focusing on trees with important curative properties, and “timber forests” consisting of over-exploited species held as a reserve to prevent extinction and loss of genetic diversity.  "Ornamental forests" offer beauty.  Often times the categories are blurred: mixed forests rise up in which old-growing timber hardwoods loom over shorter lived fruit trees, both surrounded by food-producing palms and slender trees providing medicinal sap.  The wild forest ignores categories in its glorious dispersal of species, few and far between here, banded in enclaves and clusters there; we have attempted to pay attention to these lessons in pattern and distribution.

In all, our multi-strata planted forests form what we like to call the Living Seed Bank, a truly living embodiment of the commitment to go beyond conservation and actively participate in the preservation not only of existing ecosystems, but also of the genetic health and diversity that underlie those ecosystems.  If traditional seed banks are considered a kind of botanical Noah’s ark by some, or as a “doomsday vault” by others, we enjoy the notion that a seed bank can be a functioning forest while ensuring species survival for future generations.  Additionally, for research purposes the fact that our trees are alive and actively producing seed—as opposed to a sealed seed packet in a refrigerator somewhere—allows for the observation of reactions to climate change and other variable factors.

Research in one other important area also informs our efforts to create a living, rather than sterile, seed bank.  Many of the tree species we plant can be considered “wild,” rarely propagated by people and never “domesticated” in the sense of selective breeding.  And yet all of the trees we plant are useful, even invaluable, to people.  With many of our trees, the promise of future seed resources is overshadowed by the valuable knowledge attained through experimenting with propagation.  Countless useful trees from the jungle are not grown by people simply because how to grow the trees remains a mystery.  In an environment as diverse as the Amazon rainforest, each species requires study and curious experimentation to determine how it best likes to grow.  Some trees need full sunlight while others require shade.  Some species fall prey to pests and plagues when grown in monocultural (single species) stands while others thrive in such an environment.

With experience in the field, we hope to develop a kind of library of tree behavior.  The holy grail of such a search is of course the discovery of some well-known and valuable timber tree that will grow exceptionally fast under certain circumstances.  On a more general level, we seek to identify the habits and preferences of trees that will inform decisions about appropriate reforestation practices, rendering more trees accessible to small-scale farmers and responsible timber companies alike.

• Living Seed Bank