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Photosynthesis
A Short Introduction
It seems that photosynthesis is at least 3,84 billion years old on the
planet. The proofs are seen e g
here1 and
here2.
Global photosynthesis fix annually and spontaniously in a fully sundriven
process 120 Gt of C from the
atmosphere. Photosynthesis is thereby the biggest mass balance process
on the planet.
About 44 weight % of the completely dry biomass is carbon (C).
In many areas prolonged periods of low light intensity, local drought or too
low temperatures are limiting the photosynthetic process on land.
About 2/3 of global photosynthesis comes today from land based plants and
1/3 from mainly sea based photosynthesis - inspite of the sea currently
covers 71% of the planet surface.
In spite of photosynthesis is still stopped, inhibited and counteracted in several ways by mankind the photosynthesis has still a mass flow on C fixation that is still ~15 times higher than the total human use of fossil C on 9 Gt C in 2009.
The global annual spontanious photosynthesis is also even annually 10 Gt C higher than is currently totally left in the global atmosphere after 150 years of fossil burning that raises the CO2 content from 280 ppm (in 1850) to currently 390 ppm. The fossil C amount still remaining in the atmosphere after 150 years of fossil C burning is 110 Gt C. This is the major amount that has to be C sequestered within 30 years to stop a cataclysmic global heat shick in the centuries to come.
About 2/3 of the global photosynthesis is land based. Below
is shown monthly averages for global photosynthesis measured by an ESA
satellite in wavelengths highly correlated to Leaf Area Index (LAI) - the
green scale below the continents. Below is shown the photosynthetically most
active regions based on satellite data compiled by ESA. Below is seen animated monthly averages during
three consequtive years - during 1999 - 2002.
Animation below:
Courtesy by ESA
In the global CO2 reset crop model a crop will be presented
that when applied 20 kg seeds/ha in spring You can easily harvest ~80% of 20 -
30 tonnes dry matter/ha for sequestering 150 days later annually. - that means
intensified photosynthesis. The crop needs no spraying but fertilizer
optimization adapted to each soil. By such a harvest level it will be enough
with less than 1 Gha land to be cultivated during 20 years of the 16,7 Gha landmass we
have today at the current sea level. This is a Project AgroChall calculation.
This harvest level is connected to an efficient commercial
sequestering logistics resulting in the complete global_CO2 _reset within 25 years.
To this must be added an acreage corresponding to the intended actual fossil fuel burning of C during this 25 year period from the start of the project - a
level determined by the UN Copenhagen political conference meeting in December
2009, where political honesty is confronted with stoechiometry within the
natural law system. Such a Project AgroChall solution is a most natural
consequence of the anticipated effects of what was published by
Peter Cox et al.(Nature, 2000)
in their
frequently cited article where it is explicitely said that after 2050 the rain forest will otherwise
changing from having been the biggest annual sink of CO2 from the atmosphere
to become a
heavy sources of CO2 into the atmosphere due to continued global warming, drying
of rainforest and deliberate or non-intended combustion. Thereby already
by 2050 a big fraction of the dark green tarte piece above can be included in
the atmospheric pool of CO2 contributing to further accelerated global warming
including of new additions of huge amounts of methane from thawing permafrost
regions. The temperature chock will be further boosted
by perhaps 50 Gt C from methane comming out from thawing permafrost tundra land
(
Walter, K.M. et al 2006 ) in the northern cold hemisphere.
This will give a quick temperature increase to a ~12 °C as expected from Hadley
Center (Peter Cox, BBC 2005).
As we all know from primary school the reverse of combustion, respiration(Your
breathing) is the reverse of photosynthesis, so urban people with many exotic
behaviours causing the global warming have today forgot that...
The Global Warming Solution - is mainly a matter of photosynthetic optimization of the annually most efficient "top
yielding crops" for each region followed by a new
dedicated harvest followed by a new asserted logistics for commercial C sequestering(=store carbon
for very long time stably) the annual production(See below) .
Photosynthesis is the dominating sun
driven process on Planet Earth (above green areas). However, deserts - photosynthetic
free areas due to water deficiency -
covers today 31% of the planet land area(= 5,1 Gha) of totally 16,7 Gha land above
current sea
level. Picture data compilation & courtesy by NASA.
The most efficient plant species in the world are - at least
in the tropical region where there is a high insolation the whole year -
capable to yield
Some candidates to be the most
photosynthetically efficient annual crops are shown above. In all cases
exept for water hyacinth the total above ground biomass/ha are
represented in dry(0% water biomass). In the case of water hyacinth also the
root is included, so we talk about total biomass dry matter/ha in practical
field conditions. In the Project AgroChallenge models is assumed the lowest
annual level of yield potential of 20 tonnes of dry matter biomass/ha & year
as an average annual yield.
There is currently in the atmosphere ~110 Gt C in the atmosphere that
respresent the amount of fossil C still left in the atmosphere that has to
be eliminated. This
fraction is the causal agent behind that the CO2 has raised from 280
- 390 ppm since 1860. To this is now added a few ppm of CO2 annually in an
accelerated speed due to unstringencies in the dynastic (political and
economic) systems.
The slight increase in temperature of ~0,7°C
that now heats up the polar region with about 5°C has increased
the warming of these regions in a way hat is now triggering thawing of the
permafrost areas. Recently is has been found by Walters(2005) that copious amounts of methane
is now leaching out in the air from thawed methane hydrates in the
permafrost areas coming from fossil stored photosynthesis energy in e g peat.
The methane is produced during nonaerobic conditions by bacteria breaking down the biomass, but having been hampered by the former cold. Therefore
thera are hughe amounts of conserved methane in the permafrost accumulated
since up to 50 000 years in the peat "sedimenting from the
annualphotosynthesis in these polar areas mainly in the North hemisphere.
The global warming solution must therefore be a complete
counterbalancing of also these fossil C threats, which puts an extra push on
mankind so we´re gonna make the time perspective = START NOW !
Photosynthesis is indeed the most dominant
process on the planet driven fully by sun energy in a an "overdose" about 4
- 10 000 times higher than all human energy consumption - a technological
challenge in itself. The photosynthesis is today annually fixing an amount
of C which is 10 - 20 times bigger than all human energy consumption or at
least the fossil burning in spite of all human missmanagement of the most efficient ecosystems. Efficient photosynthesis is today performed just by a
minor fraction of professional growers utilizing the potential it really
has.
That is why photosynthesis
is indeed the massiv and perfect way to a counterbalancing of the respiration
and/or combustion
process.
The annual global photosynthetic fixation of C (
Through an adequate international program here called
The continuation of the
Keeling curve for a mankind in continued prosperity, population size and
kept technologization level should therefore ideally look like the
simplified diagram below.
Cultivation Example - Temperate Region
French professional plant breeders during a visit to Swedish farmers fields
in mid September 2007. The yield 150 days after sowing was this year 25 - 30
tonnes dry matter/ha of total dry above ground biomass in several fields in
Sweden. With 44 weight % C in biomass this corresponds to 40 - 50 tonnes of
CO2 fixed/ha in one growing season in gross standing crop on latitude 56.

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See further
Above is seen Dr
Olivier Beherec, from FNPC/CCPSC, France - a professional plant breeder
behind several drug free certified hemp cultivars within EU - one of the
crucial photosynthetically and genetical and highly scientific "service men"
of crucial importance to achieve the goals set within "Project
AgroChallenge". Hemp is frequently producing between 50 - 250% higher total
above ground biomass annually7/ha than the toal wheat plant on most soil.
The hemp crop seen above has a annual growth of the same speed as the
average in a jungle if the farmer manipulate plant density by the sowing
machine and fertilizer application, sowing time in an optimised way. This is
possible on organogenic soils very high up in the north under professional
conditons.
Today we know all limiting
parameters behind plant growth and its best general model equations applied day
for day for optimizing photosynthesis on every place of the planet if You
show us where it should grow to a higher yield level. We know the importance
of standing point climate, soil composition & treatment, fertility, and the
difference between species, genotypic and phenotypic expression - and we
know how to apply it sustainably commercial for the best of mankind. Below
is shown how we get jungle growth on 56:th latityde with these perspectives:
30 tonnes of dry matter biomass/ha only 150 days after sowing in Sweden -
this is ten times more then the forest is spontaniously growing on the same
farm in the region.
Two annual crops sown
professionally the same
day - here pictured 70 days after sowing
2007(=half time of the growing season here): Spring wheat and
(the most
photosynthetically efficient industrial crop for the region in south Sweden
(an EU subsidiced drug free monoicious)
- hemp - Futura 75. The official annual
yield for this crop was here 30 tonnes dry matter/ha in mid September 2007. For
further details click
www.bionic.nu. The wheat crop had a total above ground biomass of
~12 tonnes/ha and gave the farmer 6 tonnes of grain/ha. In the Mediteranean
region non dwarf forms of sorghum have reached 51 tonnes/ha of dry matter. Elephant grass
in south UK has given 55 tonnes/ha. Similarly In the tropical region sugarcane is a
challenging alternative with a very high yield potential(below).
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Biomes of the world.
Courtesy by
Wikipedia and for further information and definitions.
2009-10-23
Rune Ekman
Project AgroChall
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