Rewilding and the carbon cycle

Out at Allestree Park Community Rewilding project with Field Biology students of University of Derby – performing habitat condition surveys with Eleanor Atkins and soil carbon flux measurements with Cyril Mbachu. The global mean CO₂ concentration in the atmosphere is currently about 420 ppm – and the pre-industrial value was about 280 ppm. Land management can play a role in mitigating CO₂ emissions, by harnessing the biological process of photosynthesis and abiotic processes such as rock weathering to store carbon in soil, plants, and rocks. We were able to observe net carbon sequestration taking place at Allestree during our fieldwork using an infrared gas analyser (IRGA) from PP Systems. This instrument works on the principle that carbon dioxide absorbs light in the infrared part of the electromagnetic spectrum – which is invisible to the eye but carries energy which we can feel as heat. We are engaging our students in building a dataset to evaluate how different land management choices influence carbon sequestration and biodiversity outcomes at Allestree.

Shout out to to Eunice Foote who reported in the 1850s that Carbon Dioxide in the atmosphere might have a warming effect upon the Earth – a female scientist pioneer and campaigner for Women’s rights. After Eunice many other scientists figured out the mechanistic details and implications, including that CO₂ absorbs infrared light – the principle that makes our analyser work.

See https://gml.noaa.gov/ccgg/trends/global.html for more on the CO₂ trends and https://www.climate.gov/news-features/features/happy-200th-birthday-eunice-foote-hidden-climate-science-pioneer for a tribute to Eunice Foote.

Allestree Park Community Rewilding is a partnership project between Derbyshire Wildlife Trust, Derby City Council (the landowner and manager) and the University of Derby and is the largest urban rewilding project in the UK.

This is also posted on Linkedin.