Climate change mitigation: potential benefits and pitfalls of enhanced rock weathering in tropical agriculture.

ABSTRACT: Restricting future global temperature increase to 2°C or less requires the adoption of negative emissions technologies for carbon capture and storage. We review the potential for deployment of enhanced weathering (EW), via the application of crushed reactive silicate rocks (such as basalt), on over 680 million hectares of tropical agricultural and tree plantations to offset fossil fuel CO2 emissions. Warm tropical climates and productive crops will substantially enhance weathering rates, with potential co-benefits including decreased soil acidification and increased phosphorus supply promoting higher crop yields sparing forest for conservation, and reduced cultural eutrophication. Potential pitfalls include the impacts of mining operations on deforestation, producing the energy to crush an

SUBMITTER: Edwards DP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5414686 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature