Desert 'carbon Farming' To Curb CO2

Desert 'carbon farming' to suppress CO2

1 August 2013

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By Matt McGrath

Environment correspondent, BBC News

Scientists say that planting large numbers of jatropha trees in desert locations could be a reliable way of curbing emissions of CO2.

Dubbed "carbon farming", researchers state the concept is economically competitive with modern carbon capture and storage jobs.

But critics say the idea might be have unanticipated, unfavorable impacts consisting of increasing food rates.

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

Seeds of change

Jatropha curcas is a plant that came from in Central America and is very well adjusted to harsh conditions consisting of extremely dry deserts.

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

In this research study, German scientists showed that one hectare of jatropha might capture approximately 25 tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere every year. The scientists based their estimates on trees currently growing in trial plots in Egypt and in the Negev desert.

"The results are frustrating," stated Prof Klaus Becker, from the University of Hohenheim in Stuttgart.

"There was good growth, a good response 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 scientists a plantation that would cover three percent of the Arabian desert would take in all the CO2 produced by vehicles and trucks in Germany over a 20 year period.

The researchers say that a vital aspect of the plan would be the schedule of desalination centers. This indicates that initially, any plantations would be confined to seaside locations.

They are wanting to develop larger trials in desert locations of Oman or Qatar. Prof Becker says that unlike other schemes that just balance out the carbon that people produce, the planting of jatropha might be an excellent, short-term service to environment modification.

"I believe it is an excellent concept because we are really extracting co2 from the atmosphere - and it is totally various in between extracting and preventing."

According to the researcher's calculations the costs of curbing co2 via the planting of trees would be in 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 variety of nations are presently trialling this innovation, external but it has yet to be deployed commercially.

Growing jatropha not only takes in CO2 but has other benefits. The plants would help to make desert areas more habitable, and the plant's seeds can be harvested for biofuel state the researchers, supplying an economic return.

"Jatropha is ideal to be turned into biokerosene - it is even better than biodiesel," said Prof Becker.

But other experts in this location are not convinced. They indicate the fact that in 2007 and 2008 great deals of jatropha trees were planted for biofuel, particularly in Africa. But a number of these endeavors ended in tears,, external as the plants were not really successful in dealing with dry conditions.

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

"When jatropha was introduced it was viewed as a miracle crop, it would grow on scrubland or marginal land," she said.

"But there are often 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 likewise had concerns about the fairness of the concept.

"It is still someone else's land. Why enter and grow these enormous plantations to handle a problem these individuals didn't actually cause?"

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