Abstract
Photosynthetic assimilation of atmospheric carbon dioxide by land plants offers the underpinnings for terrestrial carbon (C) sequestration. A proportion of the C captured in plant biomass is partitioned to roots, where it enters the pools of soil organic C and soil inorganic C and can be sequestered for millennia. Bioenergy crops serve the dual role of providing biofuel that offsets fossil-fuel greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and sequestering C in the soil through extensive root systems. Carbon captured in plant biomass can also contribute to C sequestration through the deliberate addition of biochar to soil, wood burial, or the use of durable plant products. Increasing our understanding of plant, microbial, and soil biology, and harnessing the benefits of traditional genetics and genetic engineering, will help us fully realize the GHG mitigation potential of phytosequestration.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 685-696 |
| Number of pages | 12 |
| Journal | BioScience |
| Volume | 60 |
| Issue number | 9 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Oct 2010 |
Funding
This work was supported in part by US Department of Energy (DOE) Contract DE-AC02-05CH11231 with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and in part by the DOE Office of Science, Biological and Environmental Research– sponsored projects “Genome-Enabled Discovery of Carbon Sequestration Genes in Populus” and the “Consortium for Carbon Sequestration in Terrestrial Ecosystems.” The Oak Ridge National Laboratory is managed by UT-Battelle, LLC, under contract DE-AC05-00OR22725 for the DOE. We would like to thank the reviewers for constructive criticism and comments.
Keywords
- bioenergy crops
- carbon sequestration
- genetic engineering
- phytosequestration