The Nordic Gene bank established the 100 year seed storage experiment in Coal mine no. 3 outside Longyearbyen in 1986. Security duplicate samples of the Nordic seed collection had been deposited in permafrost in the coal mine since 1984. 

The experiment was established with the aim to monitor the longevity of seeds in this Nordic back-up seed collection and to gain general knowledge about the longevity of seed stored under permafrost conditions, as well as studying the survival of seed borne plant pathogens.

The experimental set up included in total 41 seed lots of 17 agricultural and horticultural crop species commonly grown in the Nordic countries. The seed germination experiment included two or three varieties of each crop. The experimental part dedicated to studies of pathogen survival included seeds from 11 crops naturally contaminated by pathogens.

The test program comprises germination and pathogen survival tests every 2.5 years during the first 20 years and then every 5 years for the last 80 years. In total 25 identical sets of test seeds placed in sealed glass tubes were packed in wooden boxes, one box for each planned test year.

The tests have been carried out according to schedule and this report sums up the results from the first 30 years of the experiment. All tests have been carried out in accordance with the same ISTA-protocols.

The current book is a celebration of 40 years of Nordic collaboration on plant genetic resources. International perspectives are highlighted and the first chapter is written with input from Axel Diederichsen from Plant Gene Resources of Canada and Igor G. Loskutov from the N.I. Vavilov Institute of Plant Genetic Resources (VIR), and the chapter traces lines back to the pioneers and with a specific focus on Vavilov and how he had influenced scientists in the Nordic countries. Roland von Bothmer and Peter Tigerstedt give an overview of the Nordic plant breeding and genetic resources. Jens Weibull discusses the role of NGB (and NordGen) in the European genebank collaboration. A special section is given to a historical recap of how NGB worked with the Gatersleben gene bank in the early 1980s, at a time when computers were large and collaboration with GDR was not straight forward for western countries, and this section is written with inputs from Jan Engels (former Bioversity International) and Helmut Knüpffer (former IPK Gatersleben). The data management systems at NGB and NordGen are discussed by inputs from Dag Endresen (former IT leader at NGB, now at University of Oslo). We also have chapters on the collaboration with VIR and the Baltic States, the 100-years experiment on seed longevity in permafrost, and the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. Regarding the collections, Roland von Bothmer gives the story of the international Hordeum and Triticeae project and Udda Lundqvist of the Swedish Barley Mutant Collection. The celebration book is finished by chapters on the NordGen's Plant Genetic Resource Collection of today with perspectives on conservation and use, amongst others the ongoing Public-Private Partnership project, written by the current staff at the genebank and Anders Nilsson at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Alnarp. A special thanks to Helmut Knüpffer, Kit Lundborg, Roland von Bothmer and Sara Landqvist for their comments and proof-readings of this book.

The Nordic Genetic Resource Centre (NordGen) is the Nordic countries’ gene bank and knowledge center for genetic resources. NordGen is an organisation under the Nordic Council of Minister and works with the mission of conserving and facilitating the sustainable use of genetic resources linked to food, agriculture and forestry. 

"Cultivation Manual: Medicinal and Aromatic Plants in the Nordic and Baltic Region" provides knowledge on cultivation of medicinal and aromatic plants. 

The importance of conservation of forest genetic resources is widely recognized and efforts are needed on national, Nordic, European and global levels. The Nordic countries cooperate on exchanging information for the conservation of forest genetic resources through NordGen Forest, under the Nordic Genetic Resource Centre.

The forest genetic resources are valuable at many levels and are critical for long-term forest sustainability in a changing climate. Consequently, the present and future human use of the ecosystem services provided by the forests depends on the genetic resources. The key objective of genetic conservation is to maintain the adaptive diversity of forest tree populations. Genetic diversity ensures that forest tree populations, and consequently species, adapt to and evolve under changing environmental conditions. Genetic diversity also provides resilience to pests and diseases, and by this maintains forest vitality.

The aim of this report is to highlight the status of forest gene conservation in the five Nordic countries, how the conservation of forest genetic resources is implemented, as well as strengths and challenges ahead. The report focuses mainly on in situ conservation of forest trees, based on the agreed minimum requirements within the European Forest Genetic Resources Programme (EUFORGEN). Other types of gene conservation are described in general and are addressed for some countries, but not in a systematic comparative way and the level of detail may vary among countries. The commitments to implement the FAO Global Plan of Action for Forest Genetic Resources and the Pan-European strategy for genetic conservation of forest trees lie at the national level.

Countries in the Nordic region do however support and complement each other when it comes to conserving genetic diversity. There is a need to further develop the European work at the Nordic and national level, including the development of more specific climatic zoning to assess the genetic diversity conserved. There is also a need for a systematic evaluation of how the so called Genetic conservation units (GCU) established under the European programme cover the species genetic diversity in the Nordic region. Evaluation, identification of conservation gaps, as well as characterisation of genetic variation captured by the GCU units, could be further developed in cooperation on a Nordic level.

There is a question whether traditional in situ conservation efforts are enough to secure the genetic resources against future challenges, including climate change and pests and diseases. Cryo preservation and assisted migration have been mentioned as additional measures for some genetic resources at stake. The question on how to proceed and make the work as resilient as possible for the future, needs to be discussed at a Nordic and European scale.

This document has been developed by the NordGen Forest Working Group on Genetic Resources, together with the secretariat of NordGen Forest .

The Faroese horse (Føroysk Ross) is an integral part of agricultural history on the Faroe Islands. There is no unambiguous evidence of the origins of the Faroese Horse. It is believed, though, that the Faroese horse was brought to the islands by Celtic or/and Scandinavian settlers approximately 500-800 AD.

Molecular genetic studies have indicated the closest genetic relationship with the Icelandic horse. Influences from Dartmoor and Exmoor ponies are also likely. Traditionally Faroese horses were kept free ranging in the mountains, and only gathered and brought to the villages when there was a need for transporting heavy goods. After finishing their duties, the horses were again turned out without supplemental feeding. This semi-domestic management contributed to the Faroese horse developing into a small, strong and feed efficient horse with a compact body and strong legs and hoofs, well adapted to the climate, terrain and vegetation. The population size of the Faroese horse was likely 600 to 800 individuals at its highest.

Mechanisation of agriculture and heavy exportation of Faroese Horses to the British Isles as mining ponies resulted in a drastic decrease in population size. Currently a small population of Faroese horse exists on the Faroese Islands, which stems from a few horses born between the 1940s and 1960s. Today, the Faroese horse is used for recreational purposes. The objective of this study was to conduct a pedigree analysis of the current population of the Faroese horse, as well as to describe the possibilities for a sustainable management of the breed by using optimal contribution selection (OCS).

The Nordic Genetic Resource Centre (NordGen) is the Nordic countries’ gene bank and knowledge center for genetic resources. NordGen is an organisation under the Nordic Council of Minister and works with the mission of conserving and facilitating the sustainable use of genetic resources linked to food, agriculture and forestry. 

NordGen Annual Review 2021 provides a review of NordGen's work done in the past year.

The Nordic Genetic Resource Centre (NordGen) is the Nordic countries’ gene bank and knowledge center for genetic resources. NordGen is an organisation under the Nordic Council of Minister and works with the mission of conserving and facilitating the sustainable use of genetic resources linked to food, agriculture and forestry. 

NordGen Annual Review 2022 provides a review of NordGen's work done in the past year.

In 2003, the Nordic Council of Ministers issued the report “Access and Rights to Genetic Resources: A Nordic Approach”. Considering the international framework developed on access to genetic resources and benefit sharing from its use, the report and the ministerial follow-up, the Kalmar Declaration, provided a set of recommendations on how the Nordic countries and the Nordic Gene Bank should respond to this development regarding different types of genetic resources.  Since then, several new and relevant international developments have occurred. This has created a need for renewed awareness and new recommendations on the Nordic approach to access and rights to genetic resources by the Nordic countries and The Nordic Genetic Resource Center (NordGen). In this updated report, several new issues are addressed such as for example the digitalization of genetic information and new international agreements like the Nagoya Protocol and the implementation of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture.

The report summarizes results from a cooperation among all the Nordic countries during the period 2015 – 2019 (two projects). The work has focused on the conservation of Crop Wild Relatives (CWR), i.e. wild plant species closely related to crops. They are of special importance to humanity since traits of potential value for food security and climate change adaptation can be transferred from CWR into crops. The projects represent the first joint action on the Nordic level regarding in situ conservation of CWR. Substantial progress has been made regarding CWR conservation planning, including development of a Nordic CWR checklist and identification of suitable sites for CWR conservation. A set of recommended future actions was developed, with the most important one being initiation of active in situ conservation of CWR in all Nordic countries.

The Nordic Genetic Resource Center (NordGen) is the joint genebank and knowledge center for genetic resources in the Nordic countries. Our mission is to conserve and promote the sustainable use of genetic diversity among animals, forests and plants that are important for Nordic agriculture and forestry.

Statistics: Forest Seeds and Plants in the Nordic Region is a report with statistics on forest seeds and plant material in the Nordic countries. The report is primarily based on country reports (2013-2020), from the Nordic cooperation, through NordGen Forest Regeneration Council.

The Nordic Genetic Resource Center (NordGen) is the joint genebank and knowledge center for genetic resources in the Nordic countries. Our mission is to conserve and promote the sustainable use of genetic diversity among animals, forests and plants that are important for Nordic agriculture and forestry.

Statistics: Forest Seeds and Plants in the Nordic Region – Version 2023 is the second edition in a biennial statistics report on forest seed and plant material in the Nordic countries. The first edition was published in 2021. This edition has been expanded by including more statistics and more species than the first report, as well as including more recent data from the years 2020 and 2021. The report compiles statistics and reports contributed by representatives of each country in the NordGen Forest Regeneration Council.

The Nordic Genetic Resource Center (NordGen) is the joint genebank and knowledge center for genetic resources in the Nordic countries. Our mission is to conserve and promote the sustainable use of genetic diversity among animals, forests and plants that are important for Nordic agriculture and forestry.

NordGen Annual Review 2019 provides a review of NordGen's work done in the past year.

The Nordic Genetic Resource Centre (NordGen) is the Nordic countries’ gene bank and knowledge center for genetic resources. NordGen is an organisation under the Nordic Council of Minister and works with the mission of conserving and facilitating the sustainable use of genetic resources linked to food, agriculture and forestry. 

NordGen Annual Review 2020 provides a review of NordGen's work done in the past year.

The Nordic Genetic Resource Center (NordGen) is the joint genebank and knowledge center for genetic resources in the Nordic countries. Our mission is to conserve and promote the sustainable use of genetic diversity among animals, forests and plants that are important for Nordic agriculture and forestry.

NordGen PPP-report 2018-2020 provides a information about projects conducted within the framework of The Nordic Public-Private Partnership (PPP) for pre-breeding during the years 2018-2020. 

Climate change has already resulted in challenges for Nordic agriculture and the difficulties will continue to increase in the future. It is therefore important to act now to adapt our agriculture to future conditions, especially since the development of new crop varieties takes a long time (8-15 years).

In this report, based on a workshop with the leading researchers and plant breeders in the Nordic region, nine specific recommendations are listed. The recommendations have the main goal to support future food security in the Nordic countries by facilitating the development of new crop varieties adapted to our future needs. Special attention is given to the challenge of adaptation to climate change and high-quality food and feed production.

NordGen is the Nordic Countries' common gene bank and knowledge centre for genetic resources. This brochure collects examples of how the Nordic seed collection is being used and why it's important to preserve a genetic diversity within cultivated plants, farm animals and in forests. 

NordGen är de nordiska ländernas gemensamma genbank och kunskapscenter för genetiska resurser. Denna broschyr samlar exempel på hur den nordiska frösamlingen kommer till nytta och varför det är så viktigt att bevara genetisk mångfald inom våra odlade växter, våra jordbruksdjur och i vår skog. 

The brown bee, Apis mellifera mellifera, is the honey bee subspecies that occurs natively in the Nordic region. In the 20th century, other honey bee subspecies were introduced to this region by beekeepers. Today, the native brown bee is endangered due to displacement and introgression by these other subspecies.The conservation of genetic diversity is imperative for maintaining future adaptive potential. Bees are not only important farm animals due to their honey production, but also due to their pollination services. Roughly a third of the world’s crop production is based on insect-pollinated plant species and honey bees represent an important pollinator.

In 2014, the Nordic Genetic Resource Center published a report on the current status and conservation of the Nordic brown bee. This final report of an international ad-hoc working group, consisting of beekeepers, researchers and members of national beekeeping organizations came to the conclusion that cooperation amongst actors and coordination atthe national and international level in the conservation of the brown bee is of utmost importance. More specifically, consistent characterization of bee populations in the Nordic region to facilitate exchange of breeding material where necessary and development and promotion of brown bee specific management techniques were identified as important conservation measures. The ultimate goal is to have viable populations of brown bees, with characteristics that beekeepers value, in each of the Nordic countries. A priority list of recommended actions for the conservation of the brown bee in the Nordic region was compiled for the first time in 2015 and updated in this second version in 2019.