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 great deals of jatropha trees in desert locations might be an effective method of curbing emissions of CO2.

Dubbed « carbon farming », researchers state the idea is economically competitive with high-tech carbon capture and storage jobs.

But critics say the idea could be have unexpected, 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 came from Central America and is extremely well adjusted to severe conditions consisting of incredibly dry deserts.

It is already grown as a biofuel, external in some parts of the world due to the fact that its seeds can produce oil.

In this research study, German researchers revealed that one hectare of jatropha could capture up to 25 tonnes of carbon dioxide from the environment 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 good growth, an excellent action from these plants. I feel there will be no issue attempting it on a much larger scale, for example 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 period.

The scientists state that a critical component of the strategy would be the availability of desalination centers. This implies that initially, any plantations would be to coastal areas.

They are hoping to establish bigger trials in desert locations of Oman or Qatar. Prof Becker states that unlike other schemes that simply balance out the carbon that individuals produce, the planting of jatropha might be a great, short-term option to climate change.

« I believe it is a good idea because we are really extracting carbon dioxide from the environment – and it is completely various in between drawing out and avoiding. »

According to the researcher’s estimations the costs of curbing carbon dioxide by means of 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 number of countries are presently trialling this innovation, external however it has yet to be deployed commercially.

Growing jatropha not just takes in CO2 but has other benefits. The plants would help to make desert areas more habitable, and the plant’s seeds can be harvested for biofuel say the scientists, providing a financial return.

« Jatropha is ideal to be developed into biokerosene – it is even much better than biodiesel, » stated Prof Becker.

But other specialists in this area are not convinced. They point to the truth that in 2007 and 2008 large numbers of jatropha trees were planted for biofuel, especially in Africa. But a number of these endeavors ended in tears,, external as the plants were not really effective in coping with dry conditions.

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

« When jatropha was introduced it was seen as a wonder crop, it would grow on scrubland or limited land, » she said.

« But there are frequently people who need marginal land to graze their animals, they are getting food from that location – we would not class the land as marginal. »

She pointed out that jatropha is extremely poisonous and can contaminate the land it is grown on, even in a desert. And she also had issues about the fairness of the idea.

« It is still somebody else’s land. Why enter and grow these huge plantations to handle an issue these people didn’t in fact trigger? »

Follow Matt on Twitter, external.

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Related internet links

Universität Hohenheim

European Geosciences Union

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