Genetically altered trees to keep planet clean. Can they help fight climate crisis?
Living Carbon, an American-based company, is developing genetically modified trees to positively impact the environment. What’s at stake? The air without millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide.
Genetically altered trees? Sounds like an idea for a new sci-fi movie, but this is exactly what US scientists are working on in Hayward, California on the shores of San Francisco Bay. A greenhouse filled with plants emerging from a sea of asphalt can be found there. The plants, however, are no ordinary ones - they are more than 200 hybrid poplar saplings that are set to boost carbon dioxide air purification.
Related
Longer tree roots = less carbon dioxide
Living Carbon focuses on three aspects when it comes to genetic modification of crops. Firstly, the company aims to increase both the number and length of roots, which will improve carbon dioxide storage. The second aspect is for the roots to penetrate deeper into the soil, which is associated with longer CO2 decomposition, as well as the greater presence of minerals that can block the unwanted gas. The roots are also expected to produce more of a carbon-rich polymer called suberin. This polymer is difficult for microbes to break down, so it could keep carbon dioxide underground longer, The Guardian reports.
Modified trees to save degraded land
Living Carbon's plantings are to be a lifesaver for degraded mining and agricultural land. The company wants to plant at least 2,400 hectares of trees by spring 2024. This means that 4 million trees will appear on previously treeless land. Half of the trees planted are to be genetically modified to increase the absorption of carbon dioxide. Assuming that a tree lives 40 years, and assuming that CO2 uptake will be similar to the results from the test greenhouses, it is estimated that the improved plants will sequester more than 600 megatonnes of CO2, or 1.6% of current global carbon emissions.
Genetically modified trees could be the future of the world. In the US alone, there are currently 60 million hectares of land that could be reforested. However, the idea is being met with opponents who doubt the success of the campaign. In their view, it is impossible to achieve results such as those in the test greenhouses as the trees planted in the wild will be exposed to a number of variables such as temperature, humidity and sunshine. However, Living Carbon is not worried about the negative comments and continues to fight to prove that genetically altered trees are our future.
Source: The Guardian
