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<br>Desert 'carbon farming' to curb CO2<br>
<br>1 August 2013<br>
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<br>By Matt McGrath<br>
<br>Environment correspondent, BBC News<br>
<br>Scientists state that planting big numbers of jatropha trees in desert locations could be an efficient way of curbing emissions of CO2.<br>
<br>Dubbed "carbon farming", researchers say the concept is financially competitive with modern carbon capture and storage jobs.<br>
<br>But critics say the idea could be have unanticipated, negative effects including driving up .<br>
<br>The research study has actually been published, external in the journal Earth System Dynamics.<br>
<br>Seeds of modification<br>
<br>Jatropha curcas is a plant that came from Central America and is extremely well adjusted to severe conditions consisting of incredibly dry deserts.<br>
<br>It is already grown as a biofuel, external in some parts of the world because its seeds can produce oil.<br>
<br>In this study, German researchers revealed that a person hectare of jatropha might catch approximately 25 tonnes of carbon dioxide from the environment every year. The researchers based their estimates on trees presently growing in trial plots in Egypt and in the Negev desert.<br>
<br>"The outcomes are frustrating," said Prof Klaus Becker, from the University of Hohenheim in Stuttgart.<br>
<br>"There was good development, a great response from these plants. I feel there will be no issue trying it on a much larger scale, for instance ten thousand hectares in the beginning," he said.<br>
<br>According to the scientists a plantation that would cover 3 percent of the Arabian desert would take in all the CO2 produced by automobiles and trucks in Germany over a 20 year period.<br>
<br>The researchers state that a crucial element of the plan would be the schedule of desalination facilities. This implies that initially, any plantations would be confined to coastal locations.<br>
<br>They are wishing to establish larger trials in desert areas of Oman or Qatar. Prof Becker says that unlike other plans that simply offset the carbon that people produce, the planting of jatropha might be an excellent, short-term option to climate modification.<br>
<br>"I think it is a great idea due to the fact that we are actually extracting carbon dioxide from the environment - and it is entirely various between extracting and avoiding."<br>
<br>According to the researcher's calculations the costs of curbing co2 via the planting of trees would be 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).<br>
<br>A number of nations are presently trialling this technology, external however it has yet to be deployed commercially.<br>
<br>Growing jatropha not just takes in CO2 but has other advantages. The plants would assist to make desert locations more habitable, and the plant's seeds can be gathered for biofuel state the scientists, supplying an economic return.<br>
<br>"Jatropha is perfect to be developed into biokerosene - it is even better than biodiesel," said Prof Becker.<br>
<br>But other professionals in this location are not persuaded. They indicate the fact that in 2007 and 2008 large numbers of jatropha trees were planted for biofuel, especially in Africa. But a number of these endeavors ended in tears,, external as the plants were not very effective in handling dry conditions.<br>
<br>Lucy Hurn is the biofuels campaign supervisor for the charity, Actionaid. She states that while jatropha was once viewed as the excellent, green hope the reality was extremely different.<br>
<br>"When jatropha was introduced it was viewed as a wonder crop, it would grow on scrubland or marginal land," she said.<br>
<br>"But there are often individuals who require minimal land to graze their animals, they are getting food from that area - we wouldn't class the land as marginal."<br>
<br>She explained that jatropha is highly hazardous and can pollute the land it is grown on, even in a desert. And she also had concerns about the fairness of the concept.<br>
<br>"It is still someone else's land. Why go in and grow these massive plantations to deal with an issue these individuals didn't in fact cause?"<br>
<br>Follow Matt on Twitter, external.<br>
<br>More on this story<br>
<br>'Carpets of seaweed' grown for fuel. Video, 00:03:05'Carpets of seaweed' grown for fuel<br>
<br>1 July 2013<br>
<br>Biofuels are 'irrational technique'<br>
<br>Published<br>
<br>15 April 2013<br>
<br>Related web links<br>
<br>Universität Hohenheim<br>
<br>European Geosciences Union<br>
<br>The BBC is not accountable for the content of external sites.<br>