RIYADH: The National Center for Vegetation Cover Development and Combating Desertification has reported it has collected more than 80 tonnes of seeds since the beginning of this year.

The collection includes 45 native plant species, including haloxylon persicum, calligonum comosum, vachellia gerrardii var. najdensis, vachellia flava, ziziphus spina-christi, rhanterium epapposum, vachellia tortilis, haloxylon salicornicum, and traganum nudatum.

This effort forms part of the NCVC’s mission to conserve the Kingdom’s native plant diversity.

Building on its efforts, the center said that seed collection was ongoing across different regions of Saudi Arabia under well-designed programs and plans aimed at cultivating native plants and conserving natural vegetation cover.

Such initiatives, it stressed, directly contributed to combating desertification and enhancing environmental sustainability.

Furthermore, the NCVC emphasized that prioritizing the collection of wild plant seeds reflected the importance of propagating and conserving native species.