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Desert ‘carbon Farming’ To Curb CO2
Desert ‘carbon farming’ to curb CO2
1 August 2013
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By Matt McGrath
Environment correspondent, BBC News
Scientists say that planting large numbers of jatropha trees in desert locations could be a reliable method of suppressing emissions of CO2.
Dubbed “carbon farming”, scientists say the concept is with high-tech carbon capture and storage tasks.
But critics say the idea could be have unpredicted, negative impacts including driving up food costs.
The research study has been released, external in the journal Earth System Dynamics.
Seeds of change
Jatropha curcas is a plant that originated in Central America and is really well adjusted to extreme conditions including incredibly arid deserts.
It is already grown as a biofuel, external in some parts of the world since its seeds can produce oil.
In this research study, German scientists revealed that one hectare of jatropha might capture as much as 25 tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere every year. The researchers based their estimates on trees currently growing in trial plots in Egypt and in the Negev desert.
“The outcomes are frustrating,” said Prof Klaus Becker, from the University of Hohenheim in Stuttgart.
“There was excellent development, a good response from these plants. I feel there will be no problem trying it on a much larger scale, for example 10 thousand hectares in the start,” he stated.
According to the researchers a plantation that would cover three percent of the Arabian desert would soak up all the CO2 produced by cars and trucks and trucks in Germany over a twenty years duration.
The researchers state that a crucial component of the strategy would be the accessibility of desalination facilities. This implies that initially, any plantations would be confined to coastal areas.
They are intending to establish bigger trials in desert areas of Oman or Qatar. Prof Becker states that unlike other plans that just offset the carbon that people produce, the planting of jatropha might be an excellent, short-term option to climate change.
“I believe it is a great concept due to the fact that we are really extracting carbon dioxide from the environment – and it is totally various in between drawing out and avoiding.”
According to the researcher’s estimations the expenses of curbing carbon dioxide via the planting of trees would be in 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 currently trialling this innovation, external however it has yet to be deployed commercially.
Growing jatropha not just absorbs CO2 but has other advantages. The plants would help to make desert locations more habitable, and the plant’s seeds can be harvested for biofuel say the researchers, offering a financial return.
“Jatropha is ideal to be become biokerosene – it is even much better than biodiesel,” said Prof Becker.
But other experts in this location are not persuaded. They indicate the truth that in 2007 and 2008 great deals of jatropha trees were planted for biofuel, particularly in Africa. But numerous of these ventures ended in tears,, external as the plants were not extremely effective in managing dry conditions.
Lucy Hurn is the biofuels campaign manager for the charity, Actionaid. She states that while jatropha was as soon as viewed as the great, green hope the truth was really different.
“When jatropha was presented it was viewed as a wonder crop, it would grow on scrubland or minimal land,” she stated.
“But there are often people who need marginal land to graze their animals, they are getting food from that area – we would not 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 also had issues about the fairness of the idea.
“It is still someone else’s land. Why go in and grow these massive plantations to handle an issue these people didn’t actually cause?”
Follow Matt on Twitter, external.
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Related web links
Universität Hohenheim
European Geosciences Union
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