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Plant responses to simulated carbon capture and storage (CCS) CO 2 pipeline leakage: the effect of soil type
Author(s) -
Lake Janice A.,
Lomax Barry H.
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
greenhouse gases: science and technology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.45
H-Index - 32
ISSN - 2152-3878
DOI - 10.1002/ghg.1858
Subject(s) - environmental science , carbon capture and storage (timeline) , soil carbon , soil water , loam , environmental engineering , soil science , geology , climate change , oceanography
Carbon capture and storage (CCS) has been proposed as a bridging technology to enable the transition to an energy system based on renewable sources. Many high CO 2 ‐emitting industries (such as the power industry) are distant from potential carbon storage sites (such as offshore geological reservoirs) and an infrastructure of CO 2 transportation must therefore be developed to carry the CO 2 to safe storage. As such there is a need to understand the risks involved and the mitigation of potential leaks associated with CCS and dense‐phase CO 2 transportation networks. Since 2012 a number of experimental studies have provided a mechanistic understanding of the risks posed to crops as a function of CO 2 leakage from CCS infrastructure. However, what remains largely unresolved is the role played by both soil type and soil structure in mitigating and / or enhancing plant stresses. In this study we provide an experimental framework to evaluate these effects. Wheat and beetroot were grown in four different experimental soils to test the effects of specific soil attributes (organic, low pH; organic, open structure; organic, limed; loam, neutral pH) on crop performance when exposed to high levels (∼40%) of CO 2 in the soil environment. Comparison between treatment and controls and across the soil types reveals little difference in terms of biomass or plant stress chemistry. From a stakeholder perspective these findings suggest that soil type may play only a minor role in mitigating or amplifying plant stress in response to the unlikely event of a CO 2 leak from CCS infrastructure. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.