Dr. D. and list I am not an expert in this area, but try to follow the subject closely - because it is a hugely important topic for biochar and you should get an answer. You asked below "My guess is that many group members here might [think] this is among the least effective "geo-engineering" efforts. Am I wrong? "
My answer: we need more data. By no means "least" yet.. Googling found this Wiki statement (emphasis added): 'They grow at such a rate as to produce roughly 40 cubic feet (1.1 m 3 ) of wood each year, approximately equal to the volume of a 50-foot-tall tree one foot in diameter. [ 7 ] This makes them among the fastest growing organisms on Earth, in terms of annual increase in mass. " This is encouraging but meaningless in CDR (NPP) terms until we know the associated tree age and land area. If the above hypothetical tree had unity density [barely floated] of about half carbon, we could say about 0.55 tonnes C/yr per tree. If there were 100 such trees per hectare (each occupying 100 sqm) or spaced about 10 meters apart, then we could say the NPP was about 55 tonnes C/ha-yr or about 5.5 kg C/sqm-yr. This would be astoundingly good. But could be off easily by a factor of10 if the 40 cu ft related to a 250 ft tall tree (maybe this growth statistic is for land with fewer than 10 trees per ha??). Anyone up on these numbers for giant sequoia? An actively managed planted forest might start off with 100 times as many trees per ha (one per sqm) - and slowly reduce the density to get the maximum annual dollar yield from the initial planting - the thinned little guys going to energy and biochar "of course". There are numerous forestry experts who know this proper (maxmum profit) planting and thinning schedule for different species. The growth follows a sigmoid curve shape - so we need data on that as well. If the maximum growth period is 500 years off, that is not so good. Speaking of biochar, millions of seedlings are now finding better growth and economics with char replacing vermiculite or similar starter "soil". Ron ----- Original Message ----- From: "Dr D" <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Thursday, June 6, 2013 1:49:34 PM Subject: [geo] Nice but unrealistic carbon capture project? Instead of sharing a paper, below is a 5 min video from the New York Times.... http://www.nytimes.com/video/2013/06/06/science/100000002262388/reaching-for-the-sky.html The Archangel Project wants to take cuttings from giant trees (Sequoias), propagate them in the millions, and plant thousands of arces of them throughout the US (e.g. New England). The idea is to capture carbon and store if for thousands of years. My guess is that many group members here might this is among the least effective "geo-engineering" efforts. Am I wrong? -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "geoengineering" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/geoengineering?hl=en . For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out . -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "geoengineering" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/geoengineering?hl=en. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
