Hi All
People on this list may be puzzled by the note on soil carbon. It was
meant as a reply to a contribution about Arctic methane and carbon which
was intended for AMEG of which Andrew Lockley is a member. I circulated
at Asilomar this was a lazy way to get the amazing ranch photos to you.
There is lots more on the web if you input Tony Lovell and soilcarbon.
Stephen
On 26/01/2013 14:00, Andrew Lockley wrote:
Poster's note : as attached and pasted. Please see attached for
images. This document from Asilomar has not (as I recall) been
circulated on list.
A Grass Root Proposal for Carbon Sequestration
Tony Lovell, [email protected]
Bruce Ward [email protected]
Soil Carbon (Australia)
P/L, PO Box 157, Bond University, QLD 4229 Australia
Stephen Salter Institute for Energy Systems, University of Edinburgh.
[email protected]
Ultimate objective
We want quantitative data on an energy efficient way to remove carbon
dioxide from the atmosphere.
Approach
The mass of unseen root material below ground is
related to the amount of visible plant material above ground as
shown. However in many countries modern livestock management
methods involve constant grazing which keeps grass short and so
leaves very little root mass.
Arid land can be converted to lush pasture with more livestock and
higher bio-diversity merely by allowing livestock to eat grass down
to ground level and then leaving it to recover to full height. This can
be done with only fences and gates operated at the correct time.
The soil carbon content of many regions in Scotland is 20 kg per
square metre reaching 600 kg in peat bogs. Increasing the soil
carbon of one third of the world’s land area by 1 kg per square metre
amounts to 100 Gigatonne, about twelve years of total human
emissions.
Status of research
The idea has been demonstrated in several countries. The photographs
below were taken
of adjacent ranches in Mexico on the same day. However there is a
need for measurements of carbon changes
in a wide range of soil conditions so that we can make a world wide
estimate of the potential.
Critical research needs Carbon content instrumentation for field use
such as the Brookhaven neutron
scattering system
(http://www.netl.doe.gov/publications/factsheets/project/Proj266.pdf)
, travel and research
staff.
Project Group Soil Carbon Australia. http://www.soilcarbon.com.au/
--
Emeritus Professor of Engineering Design School of Engineering
University of Edinburgh Mayfield Road Edinburgh EH9 3JL Scotland
[email protected] Tel +44 (0)131 650 5704 Cell 07795 203 195
WWW.see.ed.ac.uk/~shs
The University of Edinburgh is a charitable body, registered in
Scotland, with registration number SC005336.
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