seth itzkan - soil carbon and climate
TRANSCRIPT
Gree$ngs From the Paradigm Fence
Tuesday, January 13, 15
Karoo, South AfricaGrassland
WaterCarbon
Desert
WaterCarbon
Which side do you prefer?
Which side gets more rain?
Tuesday, January 13, 15
Holism
Tuesday, January 13, 15
Tuesday, January 13, 15
Tuesday, January 13, 15
35 -‐ 75 million
35 million 5 billion
Animal Con;nent
Tuesday, January 13, 15
The end of… soil
Buffalo Genocide
The beginning of…
deser(fica(on
Soil needs animals
Tuesday, January 13, 15
Livestock as a proxy for wild
herds
Tuesday, January 13, 15
Tuesday, January 13, 15
4 x
Tuesday, January 13, 15
2004
100% bare groundfor decades
Tuesday, January 13, 15
2005Tuesday, January 13, 15
2006Tuesday, January 13, 15
2013
Deep-‐rootedPerennials
Deep-‐rootedPerennials
Tuesday, January 13, 15
15
Tuesday, January 13, 15
Deep-‐rootedPerennials
Deep-‐rooted Perennials
Tuesday, January 13, 15
2014 Climax Perennial Grass(Panicum maximum)“Guinea grass”
Mid-‐succession Perennial Grass(Heteropogon contortus)“Spear grass”
Tuesday, January 13, 15
2014
<-‐-‐ mopani tree
<-‐-‐ mopani tree
mopani tree-‐-‐>
Restored Landscape WithClimax Perennial Grasses(Panicum maximum)
Panicum maximumseed head
Bare ground for decades
Tuesday, January 13, 15
19
Tuesday, January 13, 15
20
Tuesday, January 13, 15
2004
2013
Tuesday, January 13, 15
2006Tuesday, January 13, 15
2009Tuesday, January 13, 15
2013Tuesday, January 13, 15
2006
2013
Tuesday, January 13, 15
26
2014
Tuesday, January 13, 15
Google DigitalGlobe • GeoEye • Cnes / Spot
Image
New Surface Waterin Dry Season
1.5 Km / 10 m eleva;on gain
Tuesday, January 13, 15
Driving Upstream
Copyright © Seth Itzkan, 2012
Tuesday, January 13, 15
Tuesday, January 13, 15
New Surface Water in Dry Season
No more pumpsTuesday, January 13, 15
31
Coahuila, Mexico – 1963
Tuesday, January 13, 15
Coahuila, Mexico -‐ 2003
Tuesday, January 13, 15
Lebowa – 1970s
Tuesday, January 13, 15
34
Tuesday, January 13, 15
35
Tuesday, January 13, 15
36
Tuesday, January 13, 15
How Much Carbon is Captured?
Tuesday, January 13, 15
Grasslands – Largest EcosystemLove Carbon CO2CO2
Tuesday, January 13, 15
39
Tuesday, January 13, 15
Tuesday, January 13, 15
41
25-‐50
50-‐75
75-‐100
100-‐150
150-‐200
150-‐200
>300
Tuesday, January 13, 15
Tropical savanna: 146 tC/ha Desert, semi-‐desert, scrubland: 83 tC/haDesert extreme: 26 tC/ha
Tuesday, January 13, 15
Grasslands, Tropical Savanna: 117 tC/ha Desert, Semi-‐desert: 42 tC/ha
Tuesday, January 13, 15
44
Global Sequestra;on Poten;alGlobal Sequestra$on Poten$al
88 to 210 Gt C40 to 100 ppm CO2
Tuesday, January 13, 15
How we think about the future
• Popula;on crashes• Mass migra;ons• Vast new deserts• Ci;es abandoned
Tuesday, January 13, 15
4°C Warmer World
Tuesday, January 13, 15
Geo-‐engineering to the Rescue!
§ Space Mirrors
§ Ar;ficial Trees
§ Reflec;ve Crops
§ Biochar
§ Ocean Fer;liza;on
§ Fores;ng
§ Aerosols
§ Cloud Seeding
§ Carbonate Addi;on
Do you feel be7er now?
Source: Earth’s Plan B, New Scien(st, 28 Feb. 2009, p8
“Earth’s Plan B”
Tuesday, January 13, 15
How we could think about the future
• Climate Stabiliza;on• Vast new grasslands• Water tables replenished• Sustainable economies
Tuesday, January 13, 15
49
Tuesday, January 13, 15