Some fig timber don’t simply develop fruit, they develop stone, too. By changing carbon dioxide into calcium carbonate, they could provide a strong, long-lasting solution to lure carbon. Credit score: Shutterstock
By Patrick Mayoyo
newshub@eyewitness.africa
In a stunning twist of nature, sure fig timber in Kenya are doing extra than simply bearing fruit, they’re capturing carbon dioxide from the air and turning it into stone a brand new examine has revealed.
This examine investigates novel oxalate-carbonate pathways related to three food-producing East African fig tree species (Ficus wakefieldii n = 5, Ficus natalensis n = 3, and Ficus glumosa n = 5) within the degraded basaltic soils of Samburu County, Kenya.
The researchers say all of the studied fig timber in Samburu County have been related to CaCO3 precipitation. Ficus wakefieldii was related to bigger portions of CaCO3 and had a stronger impact on native soil biogeochemistry.
Scientists found these timber can kind limestone-like deposits of their trunks and surrounding soil, locking carbon away in a extremely sturdy kind. This little-known carbon pathway, beforehand studied primarily in non-fruit timber, might provide a strong, pure software within the battle towards local weather change, particularly if scaled by way of agroforestry.
New analysis reveals that sure fig timber in Kenya have a exceptional means: they’ll soak up carbon dioxide (CO2) from the air and lock it away by forming calcium carbonate, basically creating stone inside their trunks and within the surrounding soil. The analysis was introduced on the Goldschmidt convention in Prague.
The timbernative to Kenya, are one of many first fruit timber proven to have this means, generally known as the oxalate carbonate pathway.
This analysis, led by a workforce of scientists from Kenya, the U.S., Austria, and Switzerland, is being introduced on the Goldschmidt geochemistry convention in Prague.
The timber are among the many first identified fruit-bearing species to make use of a course of known as the oxalate-carbonate pathway. This implies they don’t simply retailer carbon the best way most timber do, by rising wooden and leaves, in addition they lock carbon into stable mineral kind, deep of their trunks and within the soil round them.
All timber use photosynthesis to tug CO2 from the air and switch it into natural matter like wooden, leaves, and roots. That’s why forests are sometimes seen as a pure local weather resolution.
However some timber go a step additional. They use CO2 to create tiny crystals known as calcium oxalate. When components of the tree die and decay, microbes and fungi convert these crystals into calcium carbonate. This mineral not solely shops carbon for for much longer than natural matter, nevertheless it additionally makes the soil across the tree extra alkaline and nutrient-rich.
Dr. Mike Rowley, senior lecturer on the College of Zurich (UZH) is presenting the analysis on the Goldschmidt convention in line with the European Affiliation of Geochemistry. He stated: “We’ve identified concerning the oxalate carbonate pathway for a while, however its potential for sequestering carbon hasn’t been absolutely thought-about.
A fig tree. PHOTO/ Mike Rowley.
If we’re planting timber for agroforestry and their means to retailer CO2 as natural carbon, whereas producing meals, we might select timber that present an extra profit by sequestering inorganic carbon additionally, within the type of calcium carbonate.”
The workforce, from UZH, the Nairobi Technical College of Kenya, Sadhana Forest, Lawrence Berkeley Nationwide Laboratory, College of California, Davis, and the College of Neuchatel studied three species of fig tree grown in Samburu County, Kenya.
Researcher Lydia Olaka from the Technical College of Kenya was among the many 14 scientists who undertook the examine.
They recognized how removed from the tree the calcium carbonate was being shaped and recognized the microbial communities concerned within the course of. Utilizing synchrotron evaluation on the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource, they discovered that calcium carbonate was being shaped each on the outside of tree trunks and deeper throughout the wooden.
Dr. Rowley defined: “Because the calcium carbonate is shaped, the soil across the tree turns into extra alkaline. The calcium carbonate is shaped each on the floor of the tree and throughout the wooden constructions, seemingly as microorganisms decompose crystals on the floor and in addition, penetrate deeper into the tree. It exhibits that inorganic carbon is being sequestered extra deeply throughout the wooden than we beforehand realised.”
Of the three forms of fig tree studied, the scientists discovered that Ficus wakefieldii was the simplest at sequestering CO2 as calcium carbonate. They’re now planning to evaluate the tree’s suitability for agroforestry by quantifying its water necessities and fruit yields and by doing a extra detailed evaluation of how a lot CO2 will be sequestered beneath completely different situations.
Many of the analysis into the oxalate-carbonate pathway has been in tropical habitats and targeted on timber that don’t produce meals. The primary tree to be recognized as having an energetic oxalate-carbonate pathway was the Iroko (Milicia excelsa). It could possibly sequester one ton of calcium carbonate within the soil over its lifetime.
Calcium oxalate is without doubt one of the most considerable biominerals, and the crystals are produced by many crops. The microorganisms that convert calcium oxalate to calcium carbonate are additionally widespread.
“It’s simpler to determine calcium carbonate in drier environments,” defined Dr. Rowley. “Nonetheless, even in wetter environments, the carbon can nonetheless be sequestered. Up to now, quite a few species of tree have been recognized which may kind calcium carbonate. However we imagine there are lots of extra. Which means that the oxalate-carbonate pathway could possibly be a major, underexplored alternative to assist mitigate CO2 emissions as we plant timber for forestry or fruit.”
The Goldschmidt Convention is the world’s foremost geochemistry convention. It’s a joint congress of the European Affiliation of Geochemistry and the Geochemical Society (US) and 4000 persons are anticipated to attend. It takes place in Prague, Czech Republic, from July 6 to 11, 2025.
