Carbon Sequestration: Methods Of Carbon Reforestation

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Topic: Methods of Carbon sequestration Carbon sequestration: Carbon sequestration is a way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It includes two other major approaches, improved energy efficiency and increased use of non-carbon energy sources for greenhouse gas reduction. Carbon sequestration means capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere or capturing anthropogenic CO2 from large-scale stationary sources like power plants before it is released to the atmosphere. Once captured, the CO2 gas is put into storage for a long period of time. CO2 sequestration helps in significant reduction of carbon level that is present in the atmosphere as CO2. Carbon sequestration can be done by all the three biological, chemical and physical processes. …show more content…

Some of these methods are as following: Peat production: Peat bogs are a very important carbon store. By creating new bogs, or enhancing existing ones, carbon can be sequestered. Hence amount of carbon from atmosphere can be reduced. Reforestation Replantation of trees on marginal crop and pasture lands for the removal of carbon from atmosphere is referred as reforestation. To make this process successful the stored carbon must not return to atmosphere when the tree is burned or when it dies. For this purpose the trees must grow in perpetuity or the wood from them must itself be sequestered, e.g., via bio char, bio-energy with carbon. Short of growth in perpetuity, however, reforestation with long-lived trees (>100 years) will sequester carbon for a more graduated release, minimizing impact during the expected carbon crisis of the 21st century. Urban Forestry: Urban Forestry adds carbon with new tree sites and the sequestration of carbon over the lifetime of the tree. Wetland restoration Wetland soil is an important carbon sink; 14.5% of the world’s soil carbon is found in wetlands, while only 6% of the world’s land is composed of wetlands. Hence if the number of wetlands is increased or the area or existing wetlands is increased the amount of carbon sequestration can be …show more content…

It can offset as much as 20% carbon dioxide emissions annually. Enhancing carbon removal All crops absorb CO2 during growth and release it after harvest. The goal is to use the crop and its relation to the carbon cycle to permanently sequester carbon within the soil. This is done by selecting farming methods that return biomass to the soil and enhance the conditions in which the carbon within the plants will be reduced to its elemental nature and stored in a stable state. Methods for accomplishing this include: • Use cover crops such as grasses and weeds as temporary cover between planting seasons • Concentrate livestock in small paddocks for days at a time so they graze lightly but evenly. This encourages roots to grow deeper into the soil. Stock also till the soil with their hooves, grinding old grass and manures into the soil. • Cover bare paddocks with hay or dead vegetation. This protects soil from the sun and allows the soil to hold more water and be more attractive to carbon-capturing microbes. • Restore degraded land, which slows carbon release while returning the land to agriculture or other use. o Physical

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