New Zealand Nationally Significant Collections and Databases

The New Zealand Nationally Significant Collections and Databases (NSCDs) are government-funded biological and physical collections or databases that are considered important and significant to New Zealand.

They consist of living organisms (ICMP culture collection), preserved samples (Marine Benthic Biology Collection), or data (New Zealand Geomagnetic Database). Many of the physical collections also have associated databases.

The NSCDs were established in 1992 during the breakup of the DSIR and establishment of the Crown Research Institutes. They are currently funded at NZ$19 million per annum though the Strategic Science Investment Fund of MBIE.

List of Nationally Significant Collections and Databases
Collection/Database Custodian
Margot Forde Germplasm Centre AgResearch
Cawthron Institute Micro-algae Collection Cawthron Institute
National Earthquake Information Database

National Groundwater Monitoring Programme

National Petrology Reference Collection and PET Database

New Zealand Fossil Record File

New Zealand Geomagnetic Database

New Zealand National Paleontological Collection and Database

New Zealand Volcano Database

Regional Geological Map Archive and Database

Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences Limited (GNS)

Allan Herbarium (CHR)

International Collection of Microorganisms from Plants (ICMP)

Land Resource Information System (LRIS)

National Vegetation Survey Databank (NVS)

New Zealand Arthropod Collection (NZAC)

New Zealand Fungarium (PDD)

Nga Tipu Whakaoranga Ethnobotany Database

Te Kohinga Harakaka o Aotearoa – New Zealand Flax Collection

Landcare Research New Zealand Limited

National Climate Database

New Zealand Freshwater Fish Database

NIWA Marine Invertebrate Collection

Water Resources Archive

National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research Limited (NIWA)

Arable and Vegetable Crop Germplasm

Fruit Crop Germplasm

The New Zealand Institute of Plant and Food Research Limited
National Forestry Herbarium (NZFRI) Scion