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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 large numbers of jatropha trees in desert locations could be a reliable method of curbing emissions of CO2.

Dubbed “carbon farming”, researchers say the idea is economically competitive with high-tech carbon capture and storage tasks.

But critics state the concept could be have unanticipated, unfavorable impacts consisting of driving up food rates.

The research has been published, 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 harsh conditions including extremely arid 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 study, German researchers showed that a person hectare of jatropha might capture as much as 25 tonnes of co2 from the environment every year. The researchers based their quotes on trees presently growing in trial plots in Egypt and in the Negev desert.

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

“There was good development, a great action from these plants. I feel there will be no problem attempting it on a much bigger scale, for example ten thousand hectares in the start,” he said.

According to the scientists a plantation that would cover three percent of the Arabian desert would take in all the CO2 produced by cars and trucks in Germany over a 20 year period.

The scientists say that a vital component of the plan would be the schedule of desalination centers. This suggests that at first, any plantations would be confined to coastal locations.

They are wanting to establish bigger trials in desert areas of Oman or Qatar. Prof Becker says that unlike other plans that simply balance out the carbon that people produce, the planting of jatropha might be a great, short-term service to climate modification.

“I believe it is a good idea since we are truly extracting co2 from the environment – and it is completely different between drawing out and avoiding.”

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

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

Growing jatropha not only takes in CO2 however has other advantages. The plants would assist to make desert locations more habitable, and the plant’s seeds can be gathered for biofuel state the researchers, supplying a financial return.

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

But other professionals in this location are not persuaded. They indicate the fact that in 2007 and 2008 big numbers of jatropha trees were planted for biofuel, especially in Africa. But many of these endeavors ended in tears,, external as the plants were not extremely effective in coping with dry conditions.

Lucy Hurn is the biofuels project manager for the charity, Actionaid. She says that while jatropha was as soon as seen as the terrific, green hope the reality was very different.

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

“But there are often individuals who need minimal land to graze their animals, they are getting food from that location – we would not class the land as minimal.”

She mentioned that jatropha is highly poisonous and can contaminate the land it is grown on, even in a desert. And she likewise had issues about the fairness of the idea.

“It is still someone else’s land. Why go in and grow these enormous plantations to handle an issue these people didn’t really trigger?”

Follow Matt on Twitter, external.

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Related internet links

Universität Hohenheim

European Geosciences Union

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