This Single Tree Could Restore Degraded Land, Create a Biofuel | The world is good

This Single Tree Could Restore Degraded Land, Create a Biofuel Revolution, Power Cars, and Feed Families

Pongamia is a 15-25 m tall tree species native to eastern and tropical Asia, Australia and the Pacific Islands. It can grow in rocky, sandy, limestone soils, and the roots can withstand slightly salty water. Also, plants tolerate short-term frosts, drought and heat up to + 50 ° C. Degraded soil, like the kind which can be found on the boundaries of agricultural land, suit the pongamia just fine, and it improves the quality of the soil as it’s a nitrogen fixer. Indonesian forestry experts see this tree as a potential landscape restoration and a future for bioenergy.

A number of big challenges are bearing down on the Indonesian archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, and the government has to find ways in which it can restore 14 million hectares of degraded land to keep its promise to the UN, while also developing a green energy sector worth 23% of total grid contributions in just 5 years.

Indonesia’s Ministry of Forestry and Environment’s Research is looking into pongamia for mass tree planting as they believe this special oil can be used to power a biomass energy revolution, as well as offering a new crop for local communities to thrive off of economically, and even use as food.

Modern extraction methods confirmed the oil’s potential as a biofuel crop, with one study finding 44% more oil per seed extracted than traditional methods. When combined with 5% gasoline, it can power diesel engines in vehicles without compromising performance. This is key as many of the more remote Indonesian islands are powered by diesel generators.

The Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) is working to see if pongamia plantations are suitable for abandoned mining land and degraded peatlands, the latter being one of the most carbon-rich soils on the planet, and ideal for capturing CO2 from the atmosphere. Recently this was done in Central Kalimantan Province on Borneo. CIFOR planted the trees a year ago, and so far they are growing faster than other similar species. This suggests they may be particularly tolerant to harsh conditions, and would then be especially promising for restoration and rehabilitation of degraded land.