Desert ‘carbon Farming’ To Curb CO2

Desert ‘carbon farming’ to suppress CO2

1 August 2013

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By Matt McGrath

Environment correspondent, BBC News

Scientists say that planting big numbers of jatropha trees in desert locations might be an effective way of suppressing emissions of CO2.

Dubbed “carbon farming”, scientists state the concept is economically competitive with modern carbon capture and storage tasks.

But critics say the idea might be have unexpected, unfavorable impacts including increasing food rates.

The research study has been published, external in the journal Earth System Dynamics.

Seeds of change

Jatropha curcas is a plant that came from Central America and is effectively adjusted to extreme conditions including incredibly dry deserts.

It is currently grown as a biofuel, external in some parts of the world because its seeds can produce oil.

In this research study, German researchers showed that one hectare of jatropha could record as much as 25 tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere every year. The scientists based their estimates on trees presently growing in trial plots in Egypt and in the Negev desert.

“The outcomes are overwhelming,” stated Prof Klaus Becker, from the University of Hohenheim in Stuttgart.

“There was excellent growth, a great action from these plants. I feel there will be no issue attempting it on a much larger scale, for instance ten thousand hectares in the start,” he said.

According to the researchers a plantation that would cover three percent of the Arabian desert would soak up all the CO2 produced by automobiles and trucks in Germany over a twenty years duration.

The scientists say that a crucial aspect of the strategy would be the schedule of desalination centers. This suggests that at first, any plantations would be restricted to seaside areas.

They are wanting to establish bigger trials in desert locations of Oman or Qatar. Prof Becker says that unlike other plans that just balance out the carbon that people produce, the planting of jatropha might be a good, short-term option to change.

“I think it is a good idea since we are truly drawing out carbon dioxide from the environment – and it is entirely different between drawing out and avoiding.”

According to the scientist’s estimations the costs of curbing co2 via the planting of trees would be in between 42 and 63 euros per tonne. This makes it competitive with other strategies, such as the more high tech carbon capture and storage, external (CCS).

A variety of nations are presently trialling this technology, external but it has yet to be released commercially.

Growing jatropha not only soaks up CO2 however has other advantages. The plants would help to make desert locations more habitable, and the plant’s seeds can be harvested for biofuel state the researchers, providing an economic return.

“Jatropha is ideal to be become biokerosene – it is even much better than biodiesel,” stated Prof Becker.

But other professionals in this location are not convinced. They point to the reality that in 2007 and 2008 large numbers of jatropha trees were planted for biofuel, specifically in Africa. But a number of these ventures ended in tears,, external as the plants were not extremely successful in handling dry conditions.

Lucy Hurn is the biofuels campaign manager for the charity, Actionaid. She says that while jatropha was once viewed as the terrific, green hope the reality was very various.

“When jatropha was presented it was seen as a wonder crop, it would grow on scrubland or limited land,” she stated.

“But there are frequently people who need limited land to graze their animals, they are getting food from that location – we wouldn’t class the land as minimal.”

She pointed out that jatropha is highly toxic and can pollute the land it is grown on, even in a desert. And she likewise had concerns about the fairness of the concept.

“It is still somebody else’s land. Why enter and grow these massive plantations to handle a problem these individuals didn’t really cause?”

Follow Matt on Twitter, external.

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Related web links

Universität Hohenheim

European Geosciences Union

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