Researchers develop plants with genetically enhanced roots to help combat global crisis: 'We propose a new approach'

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego, studied genetically enhanced crops as a tool to remove carbon from the atmosphere. The next-generation crops could capture about 1 gigaton of carbon annually, the team of researchers proposed.

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the world will need to remove 5 to 16 gigatons of carbon from the atmosphere annually to achieve net-zero emissions by the end of the century. This achievement also requires curbing dirty energy and carbon pollution at the source.

Not addressing this pollution could result in an increase in extreme weather events, drought, disease, and more.

Carbon dioxide removal (CDR) addresses pollution, and the researchers' study that was published in Environmental Research Letters aimed to determine effective CDR strategies and scale these strategies to achieve net-zero emissions. The team discovered genetically enhanced crops could capture carbon on a big scale, making them a promising solution.

The crops –– which include soybeans and corn –– are altered to grow larger, deeper roots, the researchers described. These root systems allow the crops to store more carbon in the soil surrounding them since roots can hold about five times more carbon than plant material above ground.

Compared to other CDR technologies, the large-rooted crops have more potential to address pollution, the team of researchers argues.

Agricultural innovations –– like these crops –– are historically adopted quickly and do not require expensive infrastructure. The scientists suggested "existing seed companies and farmer extension programs" could implement the genetically enhanced crops.

While this innovation could face setbacks since genetically modified crops exist on just about 13% of agricultural lands, other agricultural technologies –– like drought detection –– have managed rising temperatures too. These technologies can work together, and determining how to scale them, which the researchers considered, will prove crucial to achieving net-zero emissions.

"We propose a new approach for estimating scalability rooted in insights about how technologies emerge and diffuse into service under real-world conditions," the researchers wrote.

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