CO2 EMISSION
Meet the king
of mucksuckers
I
f you are worried about
global warming and
atmospheric carbon
emissions and want to do
something practical to help,
plant a tree. And while any
tree will do its bit to suck up
carbon from the atmosphere
there's a tree that is indigenous to South Africa that is
said to be the world-beater in
carbon sequestration. It's the
spekboom (Portulacaria afra)
which is found along the East
Coast from the Eastern Cape
and through the lowveld, but
which can also be grown in
Gauteng.
A spekboom can remove up
to 100 times more carbon
from the atmosphere than a
pine tree of similar size (itself
quite a good carbon
sequester). A spekboom
plantation has the ability to
capture more than four tons
of carbon per hectare
annually.
Other qualities of the
spekboom is that it can grow
in almost any environment,
Ffom rain forest like conditions to semi-arid conditions.
It can also withstand bitter
cold conditions. From a
farming perspective it is a
known fact that the
spekboom has the ability to
stimulate milk production. It
also attracts and is very
supportive towards bees.
Furthermore it is an excellent
soil binder which prevents
soil erosion.
Scientists at Rhodes
University are conducting
intensive field
research into
spekboom in their
region to determine
its value to farmers,
local inhabitants and
the environment.
Carbon sequestration
is the result of a
process in all plants
Fleshy, edible leaves and pretty flowers
Continued on page 15
Mature spekbook tree showing evidence of having been grazed by
small stock (note lack of leaves close to the ground).
14
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