Desert 'carbon farming' to suppress CO2
1 August 2013
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By Matt McGrath
Environment reporter, BBC News
Scientists state that planting large numbers of jatropha trees in desert areas might be a reliable way of suppressing emissions of CO2.
Dubbed "carbon farming", researchers state the concept is economically competitive with modern carbon capture and storage jobs.
But critics say the concept could be have unforeseen, negative impacts food prices.
The research study has been released, external in the journal Earth System Dynamics.
Seeds of modification
Jatropha curcas is a plant that came from Central America and is effectively adjusted to severe conditions consisting of very dry 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 revealed that one hectare of jatropha might record up to 25 tonnes of co2 from the environment every year. The scientists based their estimates on trees presently 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 excellent development, an excellent response from these plants. I feel there will be no issue attempting it on a much larger scale, for instance ten thousand hectares in the beginning," he said.
According to the scientists a plantation that would cover three percent of the Arabian desert would absorb all the CO2 produced by cars and trucks and trucks in Germany over a twenty years period.
The scientists state that an important element of the plan would be the schedule of desalination facilities. This indicates that initially, any plantations would be confined to coastal areas.
They are wishing to develop bigger trials in desert areas of Oman or Qatar. Prof Becker says that unlike other schemes that simply offset the carbon that individuals produce, the planting of jatropha might be a good, short term service to climate change.
"I think it is a good idea because we are really extracting carbon dioxide from the environment - and it is totally different between drawing out and preventing."
According to the researcher's computations the expenses of curbing co2 by means of the planting of trees would be 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 presently trialling this innovation, external however it has yet to be deployed commercially.
Growing jatropha not only takes in CO2 but has other benefits. The plants would assist to make desert areas more habitable, and the plant's seeds can be gathered for biofuel state the researchers, offering a financial return.
"Jatropha is ideal to be become biokerosene - it is even much better than biodiesel," stated Prof Becker.
But other professionals in this area are not convinced. They indicate the fact that in 2007 and 2008 great deals of jatropha trees were planted for biofuel, specifically in Africa. But a lot of these ventures ended in tears,, external as the plants were not extremely successful in dealing with dry conditions.
Lucy Hurn is the biofuels project manager for the charity, Actionaid. She states that while jatropha was as soon as viewed as the fantastic, green hope the reality was very different.
"When jatropha was introduced it was seen as a miracle crop, it would grow on scrubland or marginal land," she said.
"But there are typically people who need marginal land to graze their animals, they are getting food from that area - we wouldn't class the land as limited."
She pointed out that jatropha is extremely poisonous and can contaminate 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 individuals didn't really cause?"
Follow Matt on Twitter, external.
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Related web links
Universität Hohenheim
European Geosciences Union
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Desert 'carbon Farming' To Curb CO2
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