Simultaneous carbon storage in arable land and anthropogenic products (CSAAP): Demonstrating an integrated concept towards well below 2°C

Abstract

Additional carbon dioxide removals from the atmosphere are indispensable for controlling global warming. This study introduces two concepts: (i) ‘biopump’, plants capable of significantly transferring carbon into soils, and (ii) Carbon Storage in Arable land and Anthropogenic Products (CSAAP), the cultivation of biopumps on low-impact target areas and their conversion into long-lived anthropogenic products. It develops and demonstrates a 4-step framework applicable to any region, that allows illustrating the long-term climate effect of CSAAP strategies applied to a selected territory, tracking carbon flows, from biopump cultivation to biomaterials manufacturing and their end-of-life. Based on a list of twenty-seven biopumps uncovered from a literature review, this study first proposes a method for the regional prioritization of biopumps, considering among others their ability to increase soil organic carbon (SOC) and adaptation potential. It then demonstrates how to select target areas on a territory, and shows how to integrate the output of SOC simulations in dynamic carbon balances, that can be translated in terms of effects on global mean temperature change. This is illustrated for products encompassing a variety of lifetimes, for the case of Miscanthus grown on French target areas. A potential ranging from 11,187- 24,007 km2 target areas was identified; translating in additional SOC stocks of 0.23 to 0.49 Mt year−1, which represents 0.19%- 0.41% of the annual French carbon budget, or 13% assuming an indefinite storage in anthropogenic products. We concluded that CSAAP strategies could induce negative emissions by 2100, with efficiency strongly depending upon carbon residence time in the technosphere.