Regrowing biomass to controal climate change

Over the past 5000 years human activity has reduced the total amountof life on earth to less than half of what it was throughout the preceding500,000 years.

The impact of this biomass loss has thus far been largely overlooked inthe climate models. This greatly increases our exposure to climatechange but at the same time points the way to the solution.

Life is a coloniser - it is constantly seeking to

adapt space to make habitats that suit its

requirements. This process has been

refined and adapted over Earth's 4.5 billion

year history.

Life achieves this by recycling the finite

elemental resources of the planet using the

power of the Sun as nutrients are recycled

into ever more diverse and efficient

interdependent biological organisms.

On our current path we are committed to 4°C before the end of this century. The last time temperature was this high was 37 million years ago.

Earth’s evolutionary history and its huge changes over time.

Temperatures 2°C above the preindustrial and sea level was 6 – 7 metres above the current level

CO2 is now off the scale.

We are currently on track for 4°C warming possibly as soon as 2050.

CO2 concentration is now as far above the pre-industrial level as the depth of the last ice age was below it.

At 4°C above preindustrial levels there was no ice at either pole and sea level were 70m higher than now. That last happened 40 million years ago.

At 2°C warming above preindustrial levels as we saw in the last slide sea level was 7-8 meters higher - this was 10 million years ago.

The ice will take time to melt, but without intervention we are committed to this and have condemned future generations to it.

Sea level falls over 100 meters during an ice age.

500,000 years of Human evolution

self regulating habitat support The key element is carbon and the balancing factors

that allow life to maintain the Earth’s temperature

within acceptable parameters are the carbon cycles.

Namely: the living organic carbon cycle and, secondly,

the much slower, much larger non-living carbon cycle.

Balance is maintained by the transfer of a portion of the

living cycle into or out of the non-living carbon cycle.

Planetary temperature adjusts and is maintained by

the level of atmospheric carbon dioxide. This has been

maintained for at least the past 500,000 years between

180 and 280 ppm.

Humans have managed to disrupt this cycle by raising atmospheric CO2 levels to 400 ppm and by altering the ecologies of both the land and seas.

50% reduction in the total living biomass

Gigatonnes of carbon5000 years ago to 200 years ago Now 2016 2040 Excess

Gt Carbon in Atmosphere as CO2 and that we are committed to adding 600 850 960 360

CO2 ppm 280 400 450

Gt Carbon in Ocean 36500 38000Gt Carbon that will off gas as CO2 when atmospheric concentrations decrease 150

Carbon allowance for positive feed backs 50

Excess Carbon in Atmosphere by 2040 560

Biomass 5000 years ago Now 2016 Lost

Terrestrial plant biomass 1100 550 ? 550

Marine surface biomass 2000 1000 ? 1000

Deep sea biomass 300 150 ? 150

Soil fungi and bacteria - Little known 4600 2300 ? 2300

GT Carbon in Biomass lost over past 5000 years 8000 4000 4000

So here is the good news - we only need to restore around 15% of the lost biomass to pull down 600 Gt of Carbon and return to around 280 ppm of CO2

• Take care of the biosphere and the biosphere will take care of us.

• No other mechanism has the capacity to deliver at the necessary scale, economy and safety.

The team:

Bru Pearce and Nick Breeze of Envisionation & H. David Tattershall of Hope Or Cope, LLC

Acknowledgements:we would like to thank all our friends and colleagues, particularly our scientific colleagues,who have worked so hard with us for many years to assist in developing our knowledge.

Credits:we have endeavored to include credits on the images where they are not open source ifwe have missed any please accept our apologies.

Collaboration:please contact us if you have relevant research that can help in the development of theconcepts presented here.

Any questions: [email protected]

www.Envisionation.co.uk