while crops are quarantined Several They can always use a little help because they absorb carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere via photosynthesis. Andes, a California-based startup, aims to provide that help by injecting carbon-capturing microbes into the soil of farmers’ fields.
The basic idea behind how the Andean system purports to work is as follows…
At the beginning of each growing season, farmers add both regular crop seeds and special microorganisms to the soil. We can share that it is a soil microbe and was isolated from soil samples from the continental United States where traditional agriculture is practiced,” said Gonzalo Fuenzalida, Andes CEO/Co-Founder. .
Once the seed germinates and the plant begins to grow, microorganisms settle into the roots and grow with them.As the plant sequesters CO2 and uses it to build its own biomass (as it does anyway ), and microorganisms are again It sequesters the CO2 it receives from both the atmosphere and the roots and converts it into minerals such as calcium and magnesium carbonate.
These minerals remain in the soil and help plants by increasing aeration, permeability and the availability of soil nutrients. It does not accumulate.
Andes
Importantly, the sequestered CO2 remains entrapped in the mineral indefinitely. In contrast, when crops are decomposed (or burned) in the field after they have been harvested, much of the previously captured CO2 is released.
again Importantly, farmers do not have to pay for services. In fact, farmers pay to use the service. Andes makes a profit by selling carbon credits to corporate customers, with a portion of the proceeds going to his US$10 per acre payment to participating farmers. This service is currently available to US farmers whose topsoil pH is above his 6.0.
Andean systems are already being piloted on farms in North Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin, sequestering an average of 1-3 tons (1.1-3.3 US tons) of CO2 per acre (0.4 hectare). It is said to have been found to ) per season.
“The durability of the minerals and the rapid rate of CO2 sequestration make the Andean technology unique and set it apart from soil organic carbon accumulation approaches currently being implemented in agriculture,” said Fuenzalida. I’m here.
Source: Andes
