Abstract
Carbon dioxide removal (CDR) will be needed to achieve Paris' agreement targets. Terrestrial Enhanced Weathering (TEW) is a promising CDR technique as it is simple, requires no additional land and is self-operational once installed with a range of potential co-benefits (e.g. increased plant productivity) along with permanent C capture on a human timescale. Only few studies exist on silicate amendment in forests relative to agricultural TEW. However globally, cropland and forests occupy a similar area and pioneered forest silicate amendment elevated wood production (biotic CDR) using the relatively scarce silicate wollastonite. Basalt is an attractive silicate for TEW as it is globally abundant, safe (low in heavy metals) and a by-product from mining. Nevertheless, to date, uncertain, unvalidated inorganic CDR model estimates & a lack of research on how TEW affects soil organic carbon (SOC) and biotic C sequestration hinder reliable carbon crediting and consequently large scale TEW adoption. Current models of inorganic CDR by TEW come with the disadvantage of either excluding biology or oversimplifying geochemical processes. Therefore, in this project, I aim to investigate inorganic and biotic CDR in a basalt-afforestation TEW field study and long-term effects on SOC stocks. Finally, I aim to construct an integrated model, including complex geochemistry and biological processes, validated by diverse experimental data.
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