Biobank of Natural Resources
The Biobank of Natural Resources is a research infrastructure at the Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke) that collects, preserves and provides access to biological samples relating to renewable natural resources and their associated data. The Biobank of Natural Resources supports research, innovation and the sustainable use of natural resources by providing access to high-quality sample materials for long-term research and product development.
The Biobank of Natural Resources focuses on environmental, plant, animal and other natural resource samples. It is not a health sciences biobank based on human samples.
What is the Biobank of Natural Resources?
The Biobank of Natural Resources brings together Luke’s valuable sample collections and ensures their high-quality preservation and responsible use in research. It acts as a bridge between samples, research data and their users.
The aims of the Biobank of Natural Resources are to:
• safeguard valuable sample collections for future generations
• enable the efficient reuse of samples
• support high-quality research
• promote innovation and collaboration with businesses
• strengthen the sustainable use of natural resources
What samples and materials does the Biobank of Natural Resources contain?
The Biobank of Natural Resources contains a wide range of sample collections relating to natural resources, together with associated information.
Examples of the materials include:
• forest and wood product samples
• soil and environmental samples
• crop and horticultural samples
• livestock and fisheries samples
• microbiological samples
• sample collections from long-term monitoring programmes
• analytical results and metadata associated with the samples
The value of the samples is enhanced by the information stored with them. Information about their origin, collection, processing and analysis enables them to be used in a wide range of new research.
Services for researchers and businesses
The Biobank of Natural Resources provides services to research organisations, higher education institutions, public authorities and businesses.
For researchers
• ready-to-use materials for research
• the opportunity to link samples with other datasets
For businesses
• support for product development and innovation
• access to unique natural resource materials
For partners
• joint research and development projects
• long-term collaboration on materials and data
Impact on research and innovation
The Biobank of Natural Resources helps address societal and research challenges by enabling existing sample collections to be used in new ways.
For example, the Biobank of Natural Resources can be used to:
• study changes in natural resources over the long term
• monitor the state of the environment and changes in it
• develop more sustainable bioeconomy solutions
• use historical samples with new analytical methods
• support the development of food systems, forestry and the natural resource economy
How to request samples and materials
- Contact the experts at the Biobank of Natural Resources.
- Describe the aims of your research or development project.
- Together, we will identify suitable samples and materials.
- The application will be processed in accordance with the operating principles of the Natural Resources Institute Finland.
- The samples and data will be provided for the agreed purposes.
You are also welcome to contact us during the project planning stage.
