Abstract
The potential to reduce emissions from agriculture and increase the amount of carbon captured in soils is currently being examined by researchers in a number of countries. This paper describes a process of carbon capture and long-term storage using silica phytoliths and, provides the results of a study of this process on newly planted and ratooned sugarcane varieties. Our results indicate that a) there was significant variation in the phytolith occluded carbon (PhytOC) content of different varieties, b) this did not appear to be directly related to the quantity of silica in the plant but rather the efficiency of carbon encapsulation by individual varieties and c) it was possible to accurately quantify this carbon fraction prior to its incorporation into soil. The carbon content of the varieties tested under the particular suite of environmental conditions for which they were grown ranged from 0.12 te-CO2 ha-y−1 to 0.36 te-CO2 ha-y−1. This PhytOC process provides an approach which reduces emissions from agriculture for the long-term (millennia), as opposed to many other soil organic carbon fractions that may decompose over a much shorter time. Moreover, the ability to quantify PhytOC prior to its incorporation into the soil will provide a distinct practical advantage for the quantification of this carbon form over other soil carbon fractions in emerging emissions trading and offset markets.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Baker G (1959) A contrast in the opal phytolith assemblages of two Victorian soils. Australian Journal of Botany 1: 88–96.
Baker G (1961) Opal phytoliths and adventitious mineral particles in Wheat dust, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, Australia, Melbourne.
Baker G, Jones LHP, Wardrop ID (1961) Opal phytoliths and mineral particles in the rumen of sheep. Aust J Agricultural Research, 12:462–471.
Bowdery D (1989) Phytolith analysis: introduction and applications. In: In. W. Beck, Clarke, A. & Head, L. (Editor), Plants in Australian Archaeology, Archaeology and Material Culture Studies in Anthropology. Watson Ferguson & Company,, Brisbane., pp. Tempus (1):161–186.
Bowdery D (2007) Phytolith analysis: sheep, diet and fecal material at Ambathala Pastoral Station, Queensland, Australia. In: M. Madella and Z. Débora (Editors), Plant, People and Places — Recent Studies in Phytolith Analysis. Oxbow, Oxford.
Clifford HT, Watson L (1977) Identifying Grasses: Data, Methods and Illustrations. University of Queensland Press, Brisbane.
Dolgin B, Schechter I, Asido S, Bonfil DJ (2005) Improvements for Digestion of Whole Grains and Plant Ground Matter for Phosphorus and Potassium. Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis 36(13&14): 1747–1761.
FAO (2001). Production Yearbook. FAO, Rome, Italy.
García-Oliva F, Masera OR (2004) Assessment and Measurement Issues Related to Soil Carbon Sequestration in Land-Use, Land-Use Change, and Forestry (LULUCF) Projects Under The Kyoto Protocol. Climatic Change, 65: 347–364.
Hart DM, Humphreys GS (1997) Plant Opal Phytoliths: An Australian Perspective. Quaternary Australasia 15(1): 17–25.
Humphreys GS (1994) Bioturbation, Biofabrics and the Biomantle: and example from the Sydney Basin. In: A.J. Ringrose-Voase and G.S. Humphreys (Editors), Soil Micromorphology: Studies in Management and Genesis. Elsevier, New York, pp. 421–436.
Jones L, Handreck K (1967) Silica in soils, plants and animals. Advances in Agronomy 19: 107–149.
Jones LHP, Milne AA (1963) Studies of silica in the oat plant. Plant and Soil XVIII(2): 207–220.
Lowther JR (1980) Use of a single sulfuric acid-hydrogen peroxide. digest for the analysis of Pinus radiata needles. Comm. Soil Sci. Plant Anal. 11: 175–188.
McKenzie N, Ryan P, Fogarty P, Wood J (2000) Sampling, Measurement and Analytical Protocols for Carbon Estimation in Soil, Litter and Coarse Woody Debris, Australian Greenhouse Office, National Carbon Accounting System, Technical Report no. 14, 1–42.
Motomura H, Mita N, Susuki M (2002) Silica Accumulation in Long-lived Leaves of Sasa veitchii (Carriere) Rehder (Poaceae-Bambusoideae). Ann Bot 90: 149–152.
Mulholland SC, Prior CA (1993) AMS radiocabon dating of phytoliths. In: D.M. Pearsall and D.R. Piperno (Editors), MASCA Research Papers in Science and Archaeology. University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, pp. 21–23.
Nowak R (2008) Greenhouse double whammy for some crops: While others lock carbon away for years. New Scientist: 9.
Norris AR, Hackney CT (1999) Silica Content of a Mesohaline Tidal Mash in North Carolina. Estarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 49: 597–605.
Parr JF (2006) Effect of Fire on Phytolith Coloration. Geoarchaeology, 21(2): 171–185.
Parr JF, Dolic V, Lancaster G, Boyd WE (2001a) A microwave digestion method for the extraction of phytoliths from herbarium specimens. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 116: 203–212.
Parr JF, Lentfer CJ, Boyd WE (2001b) A comparative analysis of wet and dry ashing techniques for the extraction of phytoliths from plant material. Journal of Archaeological Science 28: 875–886.
Parr JF, Sullivan LA (2004) Systems and Methods for Determining Carbon Cedits, Cullen & Co., International Provisional Patent Application Number PCT/AU2005/001117, pp 1–17 International filing date 29 July 2005, priority date 30 August 2004, corresponding patent applications also filed.
Parr JF, Sullivan LA (2005) Soil carbon sequestration in Phytoliths. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 37(1): 117–124.
Pearsall DM (1989) Paleoethnobotany: A Handbook of Procedures, Academic Press, Inc., London.
Prperno DR (1988) Phytolith Analysis: An Archaeological and Geological Perspective. Academic Press, London.
Rovner I (1972) Note on a safer procedure for opal phytolith extraction. Quarternary Research 2: 591.
Rovner I (1986) Downward perculation of phytoliths in stable soils: a non-issue. In: I. Rovner (Editor), Plant Opal Phytolith Analysis in Archaeology and Palaeoecology, pp.23–28. The Phytolitharian, Occansional Papers, Raleigh.
Sangster AG, Parry DW (1981) Ultrastructure of silica deposits in higher plants. In: T.L. Simpson and B.E. Volcani (Editors), Silicon and Siliceous Structures in Biological Systems. Springer-Verlag, New York, pp. 383–407.
Schlezinger DR (1990) Evidence from chronoseqhence studies for a low carbon storage potential of soils. Nature 348: 232–234.
Skjemstad JO, Spouncer LR, Beech A (2000) Carbon Conversion Factors for Historical Soil Carbon Data. 15, CSIRO Land and Water, Adelaide.
Sullivan LA, Parr JF (2007) Green’ geosequestration: Secure carbon sequestration via plant silica biomineralisation. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 71(15): A985–A985.
Walkley A, Black IA (1934) An Examination of the Degtjareff Mehtod for Determining Soil Organic Matter, and a Proposed Modification of the Chromic Acid Titration Method. Soil Science 37: 29–38.
Wilding LP (1967) Radiocarbon dating of biogenetic opal. Science 156: 66–67.
Wilding LP, Brown RE, Holowaychuk N (1967) Accessibility and properties of occluded carbon in biogenetic opal. Soil Science 103(1): 56–61.
Wilding LP, Drees LR (1974) Contributions of forest opal and associated crystalline phases to fine silt and clay fractions of soils. Clay and Clay Minerals 22: 295–306.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Parr, J., Sullivan, L. & Quirk, R. Sugarcane phytoliths: Encapsulation and sequestration of a long-lived carbon fraction. Sugar Tech 11, 17–21 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12355-009-0003-y
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12355-009-0003-y