Biological approaches to global environment change mitigation and remediation.

Woodward, F. Ian and Bardgett, Richard D. and Raven, John A. and Hetherington, Alistair M. (2009) Biological approaches to global environment change mitigation and remediation. Current Biology, 19 (14). R615-R623. ISSN 0960-9822

Abstract

One of the most pressing and globally recognized challenges is how to mitigate the effects of global environment change brought about by increasing emissions of greenhouse gases, especially CO2. In this review we evaluate the potential contribution of four biological approaches to mitigating global environment change: reducing atmospheric CO2 concentrations through soil carbon sequestration and afforestation; reducing predicted increases in global surface temperatures through increasing the albedo of crop plants; and fertilizing the oceans to increase primary productivity and CO2 drawdown. We conclude that none of these biological approaches are ‘magic bullets’ capable of reversing environmental changes brought about by increasing emissions of greenhouse gases. However, it is possible that increasing crop albedo and soil carbon sequestration might contribute towards mitigation on a regional scale. In the absence of legally binding international agreements to reduce CO2 emissions, we propose that: increased efforts are made to identify novel biological mitigatory strategies; further research is conducted to minimise the uncertainties present in all four of the biological approaches described; and pilot-level field work is conducted to examine the feasibility of the most promising strategies. Finally, it is essential to engage with the public concerning strategies for mitigating the effects of climate change because the majority of the biological approaches have effects, quite possibly of a negative nature, on ecosystem services and land usage.