Desert 'carbon farming' to curb 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 could be an efficient way of curbing emissions of CO2.
Dubbed "carbon farming", scientists state the idea is economically competitive with modern carbon capture and storage tasks.
But critics say the idea might be have unpredicted, unfavorable effects including driving up food costs.
The research study has actually been released, external in the journal Earth System Dynamics.
Seeds of modification
Jatropha curcas is a plant that stemmed in Central America and is extremely well adjusted to harsh conditions consisting of extremely arid deserts.
It is already grown as a biofuel, external in some parts of the world because its seeds can produce oil.
In this research study, German scientists that a person hectare of jatropha might catch approximately 25 tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere every year. The scientists based their quotes on trees presently growing in trial plots in Egypt and in the Negev desert.
"The outcomes are overwhelming," said Prof Klaus Becker, from the University of Hohenheim in Stuttgart.
"There was excellent growth, a good reaction from these plants. I feel there will be no issue trying it on a much larger scale, for instance ten thousand hectares in the start," he stated.
According to the researchers a plantation that would cover 3 percent of the Arabian desert would take in all the CO2 produced by cars and trucks in Germany over a twenty years duration.
The researchers say that a vital component of the plan would be the accessibility of desalination centers. This means that at first, any plantations would be restricted to seaside locations.
They are wanting to establish bigger trials in desert areas of Oman or Qatar. Prof Becker states that unlike other schemes that simply offset the carbon that people produce, the planting of jatropha might be a great, short term solution to climate modification.
"I think it is an excellent idea due to the fact that we are really extracting carbon dioxide from the atmosphere - and it is completely different between drawing out and avoiding."
According to the researcher's estimations the costs of curbing co2 via the planting of trees would be between 42 and 63 euros per tonne. This makes it competitive with other methods, such as the more high tech carbon capture and storage, external (CCS).
A variety of countries are presently trialling this technology, external however it has yet to be released commercially.
Growing jatropha not just soaks up CO2 but has other advantages. The plants would assist to make desert areas more habitable, and the plant's seeds can be collected for biofuel state the scientists, providing an economic return.
"Jatropha is ideal to be turned into biokerosene - it is even better than biodiesel," stated Prof Becker.
But other specialists in this area 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 much of these endeavors ended in tears,, external as the plants were not extremely successful in coping with dry conditions.
Lucy Hurn is the biofuels campaign supervisor for the charity, Actionaid. She says that while jatropha was when viewed as the fantastic, green hope the reality was extremely different.
"When jatropha was presented it was seen as a wonder crop, it would grow on scrubland or marginal land," she said.
"But there are typically individuals who need minimal land to graze their animals, they are getting food from that location - we wouldn't class the land as marginal."
She explained that jatropha is highly poisonous 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 someone else's land. Why enter and grow these huge plantations to deal with an issue these individuals didn't really cause?"
Follow Matt on Twitter, external.
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Related internet links
Universität Hohenheim
European Geosciences Union
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Desert 'carbon Farming' To Curb CO2
lzfelbert52164 edited this page 2025-01-11 21:52:48 +00:00