Farming with crops and rocks to address global climate, food and soil security /631/449 /706/1143 /704/47 /704/106 perspective

David J. Beerling; Jonathan R. Leake; Stephen P. Long; Julie D. Scholes; Jurriaan Ton; Paul N. Nelson; Michael Bird; Euripides Kantzas; Lyla L. Taylor; Binoy Sarkar; Mike Kelland; Evan DeLucia; Ilsa Kantola; Christoph Müller; Greg Rau; James Hansen

doi:10.1038/s41477-018-0108-y

Farming with crops and rocks to address global climate, food and soil security /631/449 /706/1143 /704/47 /704/106 perspective

David J. Beerling, Jonathan R. Leake, Stephen P. Long, Julie D. Scholes, Jurriaan Ton, Paul N. Nelson, Michael Bird, Euripides Kantzas, Lyla L. Taylor, Binoy Sarkar, Mike Kelland, Evan DeLucia, Ilsa Kantola, Christoph Müller, Greg Rau, James Hansen

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

The magnitude of future climate change could be moderated by immediately reducing the amount of CO₂ entering the atmosphere as a result of energy generation and by adopting strategies that actively remove CO₂ from it. Biogeochemical improvement of soils by adding crushed, fast-reacting silicate rocks to croplands is one such CO₂-removal strategy. This approach has the potential to improve crop production, increase protection from pests and diseases, and restore soil fertility and structure. Managed croplands worldwide are already equipped for frequent rock dust additions to soils, making rapid adoption at scale feasible, and the potential benefits could generate financial incentives for widespread adoption in the agricultural sector. However, there are still obstacles to be surmounted. Audited field-scale assessments of the efficacy of CO₂ capture are urgently required together with detailed environmental monitoring. A cost-effective way to meet the rock requirements for CO₂ removal must be found, possibly involving the recycling of silicate waste materials. Finally, issues of public perception, trust and acceptance must also be addressed.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	138-147
Number of pages	10
Journal	Nature plants
Volume	4
Issue number	3
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-018-0108-y
State	Published - Mar 1 2018

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Plant Science

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Beerling, D. J., Leake, J. R., Long, S. P., Scholes, J. D., Ton, J., Nelson, P. N., Bird, M., Kantzas, E., Taylor, L. L., Sarkar, B., Kelland, M., DeLucia, E., Kantola, I., Müller, C., Rau, G., & Hansen, J. (2018). Farming with crops and rocks to address global climate, food and soil security /631/449 /706/1143 /704/47 /704/106 perspective. Nature plants, 4(3), 138-147. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-018-0108-y

Farming with crops and rocks to address global climate, food and soil security /631/449 /706/1143 /704/47 /704/106 perspective. / Beerling, David J.; Leake, Jonathan R.; Long, Stephen P.; Scholes, Julie D.; Ton, Jurriaan; Nelson, Paul N.; Bird, Michael; Kantzas, Euripides; Taylor, Lyla L.; Sarkar, Binoy; Kelland, Mike; DeLucia, Evan; Kantola, Ilsa; Müller, Christoph; Rau, Greg; Hansen, James.

In: Nature plants, Vol. 4, No. 3, 01.03.2018, p. 138-147.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Beerling, DJ, Leake, JR, Long, SP, Scholes, JD, Ton, J, Nelson, PN, Bird, M, Kantzas, E, Taylor, LL, Sarkar, B, Kelland, M, DeLucia, E, Kantola, I, Müller, C, Rau, G & Hansen, J 2018, 'Farming with crops and rocks to address global climate, food and soil security /631/449 /706/1143 /704/47 /704/106 perspective', Nature plants, vol. 4, no. 3, pp. 138-147. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-018-0108-y

Beerling, David J. ; Leake, Jonathan R. ; Long, Stephen P. ; Scholes, Julie D. ; Ton, Jurriaan ; Nelson, Paul N. ; Bird, Michael ; Kantzas, Euripides ; Taylor, Lyla L. ; Sarkar, Binoy ; Kelland, Mike ; DeLucia, Evan ; Kantola, Ilsa ; Müller, Christoph ; Rau, Greg ; Hansen, James. / Farming with crops and rocks to address global climate, food and soil security /631/449 /706/1143 /704/47 /704/106 perspective. In: Nature plants. 2018 ; Vol. 4, No. 3. pp. 138-147.

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title = "Farming with crops and rocks to address global climate, food and soil security /631/449 /706/1143 /704/47 /704/106 perspective",

abstract = "The magnitude of future climate change could be moderated by immediately reducing the amount of CO2 entering the atmosphere as a result of energy generation and by adopting strategies that actively remove CO2 from it. Biogeochemical improvement of soils by adding crushed, fast-reacting silicate rocks to croplands is one such CO2-removal strategy. This approach has the potential to improve crop production, increase protection from pests and diseases, and restore soil fertility and structure. Managed croplands worldwide are already equipped for frequent rock dust additions to soils, making rapid adoption at scale feasible, and the potential benefits could generate financial incentives for widespread adoption in the agricultural sector. However, there are still obstacles to be surmounted. Audited field-scale assessments of the efficacy of CO2 capture are urgently required together with detailed environmental monitoring. A cost-effective way to meet the rock requirements for CO2 removal must be found, possibly involving the recycling of silicate waste materials. Finally, issues of public perception, trust and acceptance must also be addressed.",

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note = "Funding Information: We acknowledge funding from the Leverhulme Trust through a Leverhulme Research Centre Award (RC-2015-029). L.L.T. was supported by an ERC advanced grant awarded to D.J.B. (CDREG, 322998). R. Thorley is thanked for assistance with Fig. 1. We dedicate this paper to the memory of Professor William (Bill) G. Chaloner FRS (1928–2016), a passionate scientific polymath and extraordinary mentor to generations of researchers. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2018 The Author(s).",

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Farming with crops and rocks to address global climate, food and soil security /631/449 /706/1143 /704/47 /704/106 perspective

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