Gardeners Have Power To Affect Climate

7. February 2010 by Carol Whitaker.

Landscapes can make a positive difference to reduce climate change and global warming.

According to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at The University of Texas at Austin

    * Terrestrial plants capture more carbon dioxide (CO2) than all the oceans combined, globally.

    *  Carbon sequestered from plants and stored in the soil is twice the amount found in the atmosphere.

    * According to Architecture 2030, forty eight percent of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. come from buildings.

    * Landscape design, construction and maintenance changes can increase the amount of carbon removed from the atmosphere.

As gardeners we can reduce carbon emissions by:

    * Hand pruning our plants with appropriate hand tools

   * Raking or sweeping leaves, or allowing them to remain and decay as mulch, rather than using noisy, polluting blowers to move them around

   * Recycling  leaves and garden debris (not infested with fungi or pests) by putting them into a compost pile rather than a plastic bag, which causes pollution through its manufacture

  * Using natural fertilizers and compost and composted animal manures to improve the quality of our soil, and wean our landscapes off of fertilizers, pesticides and other chemicals

(Remember the manufacturing processes of many chemical fertilizers pollute. And many chemicals used as pesticides are known carcinogens.)

   * Replacing turf grasses with natural paths and plants grown in their natural habits

(Those who say electric mowers are better are mistaken. Remember electricity production also creates pollution. Many electric power plants are fueled by coal.)

   * Provide the capture of CO2 from the atmosphere and store it indefinitely, through our gardens, especially our big trees

According to The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at the University of Texas, the process by which plants store carbon begins with photosynthesis. Plants need their leaves for photosynthesis, so it’s a good idea to stop whacking them all off with a gas trimmer on a regular basis for that reason alone.

Through the process of photosynthesis plants capture carbon dioxide. They store it below ground. This organic carbon “sequestered” in the soil is a vital part of the carbon cycle. It represents a carbon store twice as large as that in the atmosphere.

Managing soil and vegetation to maximize carbon sequestration can positively impact greenhouse gas emissions and climate change.

Various ecosystems are efficient at storing carbon below ground. Saturated conditions of wetlands don’t allow the breakdown of dead plant material providing excellent carbon storage.

Native Grassland soils also contain great stores of carbon, as these grasses put more biomass below ground than above – the carbon bound up these soils can be stored there for hundreds of years.

Conserving and restoring natural landscapes is important. Creating more natural living landscapes in our homes, suburban and city neighborhoods is vital.  If we fail to design and manage our living landscapes better than we have in the past, we will continue to negatively impact global climate change.

Posted in Sustainability Issues | 1 Comment »