The olive tree enters the Noah's Ark of plant species to be saved in case of a catastrophe

BarcelonaIn a remote corner of the planet, just 1,000 kilometers from the North Pole and surrounded by ice, lies a kind of modern-day Noah's Ark, designed not to save animals, but to preserve the future of global agriculture. Buried beneath a mountain of ice in the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard, lies the vast global seed vault that has become a silent symbol of resilience in the face of the global uncertainties of the 21st century. Designed to ensure the continuity of spices and plant-based foods in the event of a catastrophe, this biodiversity sanctuary receives samples of crops from all over the world. And now, finally, the olive tree is also part of this select group. Therefore, the future of this symbol of the Mediterranean landscape and culture is guaranteed.

This milestone has been made possible thanks to the universities of Córdoba and Granada, in Andalusia, which have sent 25,000 seeds of 50 olive varieties to this remote facility in Norway. These varieties were selected from among the nearly 700 held by the World Olive Germplasm Bank at the University of Córdoba (UCO). Among them are two cultivated in Catalonia: Arbequina and Arbosana.

The main problem is that olive trees are not grown from seeds, but from cuttings. Therefore, scientists had to extract and specially treat olive seeds. Once they confirmed that the seeds were in good condition and germinated well, at the end of February they sent them to this giant concrete chamber buried 120 meters deep inside a mountain of ice. Its airtight structure, isolated from external factors, is kept at a temperature of -18°C to properly preserve the seeds. Its operation is even guaranteed in the event of a power outage, since the chamber is surrounded by Arctic permafrost, a natural freezer. All of this makes this area a bunker for plant species in the face of natural disasters, armed conflicts, or global crises.

"We hope we never have to resort to these seeds and that the olive tree will not be threatened in the future, but since we can't be 100% certain, having this bombproof vault there in the Arctic is a life insurance policy and a source of peace of mind in an extreme case," he explained in statements to the UCO Olive World Championship. In this regard, Morello explains that, for example, in the event of a very serious forest fire, these native seeds could be used to repopulate forests or olive groves devastated by the flames. He also cites the example of what happened with the war in Syria, where wheat germplasm facilities were destroyed. Fortunately, there was a duplicate of these seeds in the same bunker in Norway, which will allow for germination in the area. The expert also considers scenarios such as a plague caused by a disease that wipes out entire species worldwide. "The scenarios that could threaten olive trees and other plant species worldwide are numerous, and it's important to be able to access these seeds to germinate them again; for us, this is invaluable," says Morello. These olive varieties, now stored in Norway, can be found in countries with a long olive-growing tradition, such as Spain, Portugal, Morocco, Italy, France, Greece, Tunisia, and Turkey. In addition, 2,000 seeds from four wild olive tree populations, collected by the University of Granada, have been deposited. These samples will share space with the nearly 1.3 million seeds already preserved in this facility, which opened in 2008 and represents some 7,000 plant species from around the world. This initiative was started by the European H2020 GEN4OLIVE project consortium and subsequently promoted by the International Olive Council (IOC) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), which were part of the project, along with the two Andalusian universities. At the end of February, a delegation of representatives from all the institutions involved personally delivered the seeds to this warehouse.

The climate crisis, one of the main threats

Beyond potential armed conflicts at the national or global level, or diseases, one of the most pressing threats to the olive tree is the climate crisis stemming from global warming. The Mediterranean is one of the fastest-warming regions on the planet, and this is putting native species in a precarious position. Even the olive tree, known for its adaptability and resistance to droughts and high temperatures, is facing challenges.

"The abrupt climate change we are experiencing is testing various olive varieties; some can no longer grow in the increasingly warm and dry areas of the southern Mediterranean," says Morello, highlighting the case of southern Morocco, which has been affected by extreme and increasingly severe drought in recent years. "On the other hand, some European countries that have never grown olive trees before are now seeing this as a viable option, as cultivation is shifting further north," adds the researcher.