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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 reporter, BBC News

Scientists say that planting large numbers of jatropha trees in desert locations could be an efficient method of suppressing emissions of CO2.

Dubbed “carbon farming”, researchers say the idea is financially competitive with state-of-the-art carbon capture and storage jobs.

But critics say the might be have unanticipated, 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 extremely well adapted to harsh conditions consisting of very dry deserts.

It is currently 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 showed that a person hectare of jatropha might capture approximately 25 tonnes of co2 from the environment every year. The scientists based their quotes on trees currently growing in trial plots in Egypt and in the Negev desert.

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

“There was good growth, a good reaction from these plants. I feel there will be no problem attempting it on a much bigger scale, for instance ten thousand hectares in the beginning,” he stated.

According to the scientists a plantation that would cover 3 percent of the Arabian desert would absorb all the CO2 produced by automobiles and trucks in Germany over a twenty years period.

The scientists say that a crucial element of the plan would be the schedule of desalination facilities. This suggests that initially, any plantations would be restricted to seaside areas.

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

“I think it is a great idea because we are really extracting co2 from the environment – and it is entirely various between drawing out and avoiding.”

According to the researcher’s computations the expenses of curbing 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 variety of countries are presently trialling this innovation, external but it has yet to be deployed commercially.

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

“Jatropha is ideal to be become biokerosene – it is even better than biodiesel,” said Prof Becker.

But other specialists in this area are not convinced. They indicate the truth that in 2007 and 2008 great deals of jatropha trees were planted for biofuel, particularly in Africa. But many of these ventures 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 when seen as the excellent, green hope the truth was extremely various.

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

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

She mentioned that jatropha is highly toxic 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 someone else’s land. Why enter and grow these enormous plantations to deal with a problem these people didn’t really cause?”

Follow Matt on Twitter, external.

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Related internet links

Universität Hohenheim

European Geosciences Union

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

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