Desert ‘carbon Farming’ To Curb CO2

Desert ‘carbon farming’ to curb CO2

1 August 2013

Share

close panel

Share page

Copy link

About sharing

By Matt McGrath

Environment reporter, BBC News

Scientists say that planting large numbers of jatropha trees in desert areas might be an effective method of curbing emissions of CO2.

Dubbed “carbon farming”, researchers state the idea is economically competitive with modern carbon capture and storage projects.

But critics say the concept could be have unanticipated, unfavorable effects including driving up food prices.

The research has been released, 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 consisting of incredibly dry deserts.

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

In this study, German scientists revealed that one hectare of jatropha could record approximately 25 tonnes of co2 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 overwhelming,” said Prof Klaus Becker, from the University of Hohenheim in Stuttgart.

“There was good development, a great reaction from these plants. I feel there will be no problem attempting it on a much bigger scale, for example 10 thousand hectares in the start,” he stated.

According to the scientists a plantation that would cover 3 percent of the Arabian desert would soak up all the CO2 produced by vehicles and trucks in Germany over a 20 year period.

The researchers say that a critical component of the plan would be the schedule of desalination centers. This indicates that at first, any plantations would be confined to seaside areas.

They are hoping to develop bigger trials in desert areas of Oman or Qatar. Prof Becker says that unlike other plans that just offset the carbon that individuals produce, the planting of jatropha could be a great, brief term option to environment modification.

“I think it is a great idea since we are actually drawing out carbon dioxide from the environment – and it is totally various between drawing out and preventing.”

According to the researcher’s computations the expenses of suppressing co2 through 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 number of nations are currently trialling this innovation, external however it has yet to be released commercially.

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

“Jatropha is perfect to be developed into biokerosene – it is even much better than biodiesel,” said Prof Becker.

But other professionals in this location are not persuaded. They indicate the fact that in 2007 and 2008 great deals of jatropha trees were planted for biofuel, especially in Africa. But a number of these ventures ended in tears,, external as the plants were not very successful in managing dry conditions.

Lucy Hurn is the biofuels project supervisor for the charity, Actionaid. She says that while jatropha was once seen as the great, green hope the reality was extremely different.

“When jatropha was presented it was viewed as a miracle crop, it would grow on scrubland or minimal land,” she stated.

“But there are often people who require marginal land to graze their animals, they are getting food from that area – we wouldn’t class the land as minimal.”

She mentioned that jatropha is extremely hazardous 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 somebody else’s land. Why enter and grow these huge plantations to handle a problem these people didn’t really cause?”

Follow Matt on Twitter, external.

More on this story

‘Carpets of seaweed’ grown for fuel. Video, 00:03:05’Carpets of seaweed’ grown for fuel

1 July 2013

Biofuels are ‘irrational method’

Published

15 April 2013

Related internet links

Universität Hohenheim

European Geosciences Union

The BBC is not accountable for the material of external sites.