Sustainably Managing Ecosystems for CDR Flashcards
How much carbon is stores in living vegetation, soils and oceans?
Living vegetation - 550GtC
Soils - >2,300GtC
Oceans - 38,000GtC
Which ecosystems are significant reservoirs of carbon?
Forests, grasslands, agricultural lands and soils
What do strategies managing the biggest biome reservoirs for carbon influence?
Their ability to absorb CO2 from the atmosphere and sequester carbon
What ecosystem has a low carbon stock but has a higher carbon sequestration?
Forests
What are nature-based CDR strategies?
Strategies that increase carbon storage in living plants, soils or sediments
Also named land-based or ocean-based solutions
What are some examples of nature-based CDR strategies?
Coastal blue carbon
Peatland restoration
Afforestation/reforestation
BECCS
Enhanced rock weathering
Biochar
Soil carbon management
What are the aims of CDR?
Remove CO2 (and other GHGs) from the atmosphere and directly addressing the increased greenhouse effect and mitigation ocean acidification
May mitigate ocean acidification
What are the two key processes of CDR/what can CDR methods be classified as?
Intentional capture and removal of a GHG from the atmosphere
Storage of the captured GHG in a form that prevents their release into the atmosphere for an extended period
What example methods are there for CDR using the GHG removal method?
Increasing biological uptake
Increasing inorganic reactions
Engineering direct capture from the atmosphere
What are the example methods used for CDR using the storage location method?
Geological reservoir
Built environment
Land stores (soil and vegetation)
Ocean stores e.g. ocean fertilisation
What does BECCS stand for? What are the two mitigation options?
Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Sequestration
Biomass combustion to generate energy (power but also heat or liquid fuel)
Carbon capture and storage (CCS)
What is ocean fertilisation?
Involves adding nutrients to enhance the biological pump
Increases carbon removal from the surface and facilitates the transfer into the deep oceans
Nutrients are nitrate, phosphate and iron
How much could restoring damaged wetlands sequester carbon dioxide?
200MtCO2/year
How many mangroves are targeted to be planted by 2030?
100 million
What are the two phases for the Hoveton Great Broad Wetland Restoration Project?
Phase 1 = remove 55,000m3 of soft sediments
Phase 2 = biomanipulation
Biomanipulation would take around 10 years - not fast enough
What factors have damaged English peatlands? How are they proposing to fix this issue?
Drainage, heavy grazing, burning, cultivation, forestry or other management practices
Covering bare peat areas with vegetation, blocking drains to raise the water table and reintroducing local species like Sphagnum mosses
What are the mitigation options for forest management techniques?
Maintaining or increasing forest area
Increasing forest area via afforestation and reforestation
Forest management to increase stand and landscape-level carbon density
What are the benefits and challenges of tree planting?
Competition for land with agriculture
Use/competition for water sources
Reduced or enhance biodiversity
Indirect feedbacks e.g. albedo effects, BVOs and cloud formations
Improve soil quality
Reduce flooding and erosion
Affected by natural disturbances e.g. fire and disease
What are the benefits for using ERW with crops?
Increasing crop production
Increasing crop protection
Reversing soil acidification
Rebuilding soil erosion
Replenishing soil micronutrients e.g. iron and zinc
Reducing N2O emissions
What are the challenges of ERW with crops?
Mining and processing of new rocks
Toxic metal contaminates e.g. waste materials
Increased turbidity, sedimentation and pH changes (from particles washing into rivers and oceans) may cause unknown impacts to marine biodiversity
What is biochar?
Is produced by thermal decomposition of biomass in the absence of oxygen (pyrolysis) into a stable, long-lived product (charcoal)
What are the problems with biochar?
Competition for land
Emissions of CO during pyrolysis
Changes in albedo so increased soil surface temperature
Potential changes in other non-CO2 GHGs
Goes straight into the ocean and so speeds up process of carbon sequestration
