In the municipality of La Frontera start the seed bank from the El Hierro Biosphere Reserve, housed at the El Creal Environmental Center. The initiative was created as a stable resource to protect the island's botanical heritage and ensure its future availability in the face of environmental changes.
The project is executed during four months with a team of ten professionals Through a contract with the public company Gesplan, funded by the European Union's Recovery and Resilience Facility and channeled through the Recovery, Transformation, and Resilience Plan. The acting president, Ana González, and the head of the Environment department, Jesús Pérez, supervised the launch along with technical staff and representatives from the managing entity.
Objectives and scope of the seed bank
The roadmap includes the design, equipment and functional organization of the bank, including technical, logistical and digital equipment for the treatment, conservation and traceability of germplasmThe assignment aligns with the PRTR (Component 4, Investment 2) commitments on ecosystem conservation and restoration.
This seeks to ensure the long-term security of genetic material de native and endemic species, integrating procedures tailored to the island context and standards accepted by germplasm bank networks.
Collection and conservation of plant material
The team is already working on the seed collection and selection of species native to the island, applying criteria of viability, ecological representativeness, and resilience to adverse climatic conditions. The harvesting areas have been identified and georeferenced to ensure responsible and repeatable sampling over time, following good practices. seed collection and selection.
The seeds then pass through cleaning, sorting, drying and storage processes, following approved technical protocols and adapted to the environmental particularities of El Hierro to maximize its longevity and stability, including the correct drying and storage.
Local knowledge and inventory of traditional varieties
In addition to conserving wild flora, the plan includes the inventory of traditional agricultural varieties and the collection of ethnobotanical information through fieldwork and interviews with local stakeholders, in coordination with specialized scientific entities. This knowledge complements ex situ conservation with field knowledge and enhances the importance of conserving and recovering traditional seeds.
Digital management and interoperability
The bank will implement a computer management system that allows for the registration, consultation, and tracking of each deposited sample. The platform will be developed with interoperability criteria to facilitate connection with other germplasm conservation networks and secure data sharing.
Education, green jobs and infrastructure improvements
The program includes training, awareness-raising and dissemination actions aimed at educational centers, local agents and visitors, with the aim of reinforcing the culture of biodiversity and the responsible use of plant genetic resources.
In the socioeconomic field, the initiative promotes green jobs with special attention to vulnerable groups and promotes the circular economy linked to the island's rural and natural environment.
In parallel, they are undertaken Improvements to the facilities of the El Creal Environmental Center to transform it into a hub for environmental education and ecological resilience, integrating the seed bank as a structural resource for public use.
Island context and representative species
The set of actions is framed on a declared island Biosphere Reserve since 2000, with rugged terrain, cliff-like coasts, and a remarkable diversity of habitats. Among the notable species are junipers, rockroses, bejeques, benzomias, cabezones, everlastings, and wild thyme, emblematic of the El Hierro landscape.
The Creal had already been promoting the restoration with Canary Island pine, juniper, palm, strawberry tree, and walnut tree nurseryIn 2023 alone, 1.711 plants were delivered for reforestation, equivalent to approximately four hectares, a legacy now reinforced by the support of the new germplasm reserve.
With European financial support, specialized technical equipment and a work plan that combines science, local knowledge and dissemination, the El Hierro seed bank It is positioned as a key tool for sustaining the island's plant biodiversity and improving its response capacity to climate and environmental challenges.
