Biomass

Biography

Biography: Bo G Eriksson

Abstract

The speech gives an simple review of the possibilities of using waste bio-mass for agroforestry in arid and semi-arid areas. In these areas there are to two key factors: water and soil carbon content. Atmosphere humidity is a valuable source of water which puts less stress on groundwater and surface water assets. As recently mentioned in Nature organic fibre could be used to enrich the soil carbon content. Such agricultural methods have successfully been practised in the Sahel area using locally produced agricultural waste and leaves from trees.rnLarge quantities of organic fibre waste are presently burned in in Europe. As an alternative to burning there are three benefits of using organic fibres to enhance soil carbon content in deserts. 1 Burning organic carbon releases CO2 to the atmosphere while placing it as a soil layer it preserves the carbon in the ground, 2 The new vegetation in earlier barren land collects CO2 from the air. 3 The vegetation and the layer of soil with a higher carbon content also collect and preserve more water from dew fall and mist. rnAs an example organic textile waste can be of special interest as the recycling processes are underdeveloped in Europe and. At least 5% of the fibres are so worn that they do not qualify for other recycling processes. There are of course lots of difficulties to solve. Agroforestry in these areas would also contribute to living conditions of populations, but also to conflicts with current activities in the areas.rn