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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 state that planting big numbers of jatropha trees in desert locations could be an efficient method of curbing emissions of CO2.

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

But critics say the concept could be have unforeseen, negative impacts including increasing food prices.

The research has been published, external in the journal Earth System Dynamics.

Seeds of change

Jatropha curcas is a plant that came from Central America and is very well adapted to harsh conditions including exceptionally arid deserts.

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

In this research study, German researchers showed that a person hectare of jatropha could catch approximately 25 tonnes of co2 from the atmosphere every year. The scientists based their quotes on trees currently growing in trial plots in Egypt and in the Negev desert.

« The results are overwhelming, » stated Prof Klaus Becker, from the University of Hohenheim in Stuttgart.

« There was excellent growth, an excellent reaction from these plants. I feel there will be no issue attempting it on a much larger scale, for instance 10 thousand hectares in the beginning, » 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 cars and trucks and trucks in Germany over a twenty years period.

The scientists state that a critical component of the plan would be the availability of desalination centers. This indicates that at first, any plantations would be restricted to coastal areas.

They are wishing to develop larger trials in desert areas of Oman or Qatar. Prof Becker states that unlike other schemes that just balance out the carbon that individuals produce, the planting of jatropha could be an excellent, brief term option to environment modification.

« I believe it is a great idea because we are really extracting carbon dioxide from the environment – and it is totally different between extracting and avoiding. »

According to the scientist’s computations the expenses of curbing carbon dioxide via the 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 countries are currently trialling this technology, 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 locations more habitable, and the plant’s seeds can be collected for biofuel say the scientists, supplying an economic return.

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

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

Lucy Hurn is the biofuels campaign manager for the charity, Actionaid. She states that while jatropha was once seen as the great, green hope the reality was very various.

« When jatropha was presented it was seen as a miracle crop, it would grow on scrubland or limited land, » she stated.

« But there are often people who need minimal land to graze their animals, they are getting food from that location – we wouldn’t class the land as minimal. »

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

« It is still somebody else’s land. Why go in and grow these enormous plantations to handle a problem these people didn’t actually trigger? »

Follow Matt on Twitter, external.

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Related internet links

Universität Hohenheim

European Geosciences Union

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