David J Beerling, Dimitar Z Epihov, Ilsa B Kantola, Michael D Masters, Tom Reershemius, Noah J Planavsky, Christopher T Reinhard, Jacob S Jordan, Sarah J Thorne, James Weber, Maria Val Martin, Robert P Freckleton, Sue E Hartley, Rachael H James, Christopher R Pearce, Evan H DeLucia, Steven A Banwart
Terrestrial enhanced weathering (EW) of silicate rocks, such as crushed basalt, on farmlands is a promising scalable atmospheric carbon dioxide removal (CDR) strategy that urgently requires performance assessment with commercial farming practices. We report findings from a large-scale replicated EW field trial across a typical maize-soybean rotation on an experimental farm in the heart of the United Sates Corn Belt over 4 y (2016 to 2020). We show an average combined loss of major cations (Ca2+ and Mg2+ ) from crushed basalt applied each fall over 4 y (50 t ha-1 y-1 ) gave a conservative time-integrated cumulative CDR potential of 10...
February 27, 2024: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America