Desert ‘carbon Farming’ To Curb CO2

Desert ‘carbon farming’ to curb 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 areas might be an efficient method of curbing emissions of CO2.

Dubbed “carbon farming”, scientists state the concept is financially competitive with high-tech carbon capture and storage projects.

But critics say the idea might be have unforeseen, unfavorable effects consisting of increasing food costs.

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

Seeds of modification

Jatropha curcas is a plant that came from in Central America and is extremely well adapted to severe conditions consisting of exceptionally arid deserts.

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

In this study, German researchers revealed that a person hectare of jatropha could catch approximately 25 tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere every year. The researchers based their estimates on trees presently growing in trial plots in Egypt and in the Negev desert.

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

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

According to the researchers a plantation that would cover three percent of the Arabian desert would absorb all the CO2 produced by vehicles and trucks in Germany over a 20 year duration.

The scientists state that a critical component of the plan would be the accessibility of desalination facilities. This suggests that at first, any plantations would be restricted to seaside areas.

They are hoping to develop larger trials in desert areas of Oman or Qatar. Prof Becker says that unlike other plans that simply balance out the carbon that individuals produce, the planting of jatropha might be a great, short-term solution to climate modification.

“I believe it is a great idea since we are actually drawing out co2 from the environment – and it is completely different between drawing out and preventing.”

According to the researcher’s estimations the costs of suppressing carbon dioxide by means of 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 number of countries are currently trialling this innovation, external however it has yet to be released commercially.

Growing jatropha not only absorbs CO2 however has other benefits. The plants would assist to make desert locations more habitable, and the plant’s seeds can be collected for biofuel state the researchers, providing an economic return.

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

But other specialists in this location are not persuaded. They point to the reality that in 2007 and 2008 great deals of jatropha trees were planted for biofuel, particularly in Africa. But a lot of these ventures ended in tears,, external as the plants were not really successful in managing dry conditions.

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

“When jatropha was introduced it was viewed as a miracle 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 location – we wouldn’t class the land as limited.”

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

“It is still somebody else’s land. Why enter and grow these massive plantations to deal with an issue these people didn’t actually cause?”

Follow Matt on Twitter, external.

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Related internet links

Universität Hohenheim

European Geosciences Union

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