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Compost & Biochar Could Boost Carbon Sequestration by Crushed Rock
Crushed rock additives may also help decrease soil emissions of other greenhouse gases, such as nitrous oxide & methane. https://eos.org/research-spotlights/compost-and-biochar-could-boost-carbon-sequestration-by-crushed-rock [science mag]
Enhanced rock weathering (ERW) is a proposed method of CO2 #sequestration that spreads crushed silicate minerals on soils to drive chemical reactions that form carbonate minerals: Essentially, boosting the natural process of rock weathering, in which carbon is transferred from the atmosphere into rocks.
Researchers spread finely crushed metabasaltic rocks across test plots in Browns Valley CA in each of 3 yrs. Along with crushed rock, some applications included compost or a combination of compost & #biochar. Other plots were treated with only compost, & a group of control plots received no treatment.
Combining crushed rock, compost, & biochar yielded the best results; in addition to sequestering carbon, the mixture reduced NOx emissions & increased methane conversion, resulting in increased greenhouse gas mitigation overall. The researchers estimate that if the combination of all three materials were expanded to cover 8% of California’s total rangelands, it could sequester up to 51.7 million metric tons of CO2e per year.
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CA Ag Sector emissions are 32 million metric tons [including cow farts]. CA total emissions are 381 million metric tons. If 58% of rangeland were covered, we would become carbon neutral.
Please burn responsibly.
