Agriculture
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and nitrogen- based fertilizers contribute to emissions. But organic carbon in
soils is also beneficial in many locations because crop yields are better in soils
with higher concentrations of organic matter and good biodiversity. Thus,
actions by farmers to increase soil organic matter and water infiltration into
soils can often have positive results in environments where increasing soil
moisture availability has benefits. Another less obvious implication for greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture is the potential for ocean- based farming.
The oceans have the potential to support the growth of algae, phytoplankton, and other photosynthetic microorganisms that fix carbon. One
of the opportunities that exists is to enhance biomass production in the
oceans and other locations. Food production in water environments could
be increased substantially. There certainly are science and technology development challenges to farming the oceans, but there are also great opportunities to increase production of food from the oceans. Additionally, there are
important social and policy issues to develop and put in place in order to
allow ocean mariculture farmers to lease a plot in the ocean and responsibly
develop it into a more productive ecosystem (EU, 2017). Progress is needed
in managing the commons of the ocean and investing in developing seafood
farming technologies for ocean environments. Increasing photosynthetic
production in the ocean, however, can increase the harvest of useful products
that are higher up on the food chain.
One option, for illustrative purposes, would be to develop a community of people living in houseboats on the ocean at a selected location with
an approved global position and an approved geographical area to use productively. Minerals and fertilizers that are needed for primary production of
algae and phytoplankton could be added to the water regularly to support
photosynthetic growth. The organisms needed to have a productive ecosystem
could be added at the site to develop a productive community. Seaweed and
other plant communities could be established. Solar panels with battery
storage could be used for electricity. The community could have a boat to take
harvested products to market and bring supplies from land regularly. Delivery
using drones might be possible as well. There is a large part of the ocean that
needs to be fertilized to have productive primary growth of biomass. Nitrogen,
phosphorus, iron, and silicon are the elements that have been identified as
limiting nutrients for primary productivity in the ocean (Sigman and Hain,
2012). While about 80% of the surface of the Earth is covered by water, only
about 50% of primary carbon fixation by photosynthesis occurs in the oceans.
This is not a far- off hypothetical scenario. There are some individuals
that are farming the ocean and producing seaweed, kelp, and other sea
vegetables using a three- dimensional underwater scaffolding support system
(Schiffman, 2016). Oysters, mussels, scallops, and shellfish are harvested
in the area of the growing plants. One of the challenges of ocean farming,
though, is to manage the ocean farming volume in an environmentally positive way such that environmental quality improves – rather than degrades –
because of the actions taken to make the location productive.
115
1 1 5
and nitrogen- based fertilizers contribute to emissions. But organic carbon in
soils is also beneficial in many locations because crop yields are better in soils
with higher concentrations of organic matter and good biodiversity. Thus,
actions by farmers to increase soil organic matter and water infiltration into
soils can often have positive results in environments where increasing soil
moisture availability has benefits. Another less obvious implication for greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture is the potential for ocean- based farming.
The oceans have the potential to support the growth of algae, phytoplankton, and other photosynthetic microorganisms that fix carbon. One
of the opportunities that exists is to enhance biomass production in the
oceans and other locations. Food production in water environments could
be increased substantially. There certainly are science and technology development challenges to farming the oceans, but there are also great opportunities to increase production of food from the oceans. Additionally, there are
important social and policy issues to develop and put in place in order to
allow ocean mariculture farmers to lease a plot in the ocean and responsibly
develop it into a more productive ecosystem (EU, 2017). Progress is needed
in managing the commons of the ocean and investing in developing seafood
farming technologies for ocean environments. Increasing photosynthetic
production in the ocean, however, can increase the harvest of useful products
that are higher up on the food chain.
One option, for illustrative purposes, would be to develop a community of people living in houseboats on the ocean at a selected location with
an approved global position and an approved geographical area to use productively. Minerals and fertilizers that are needed for primary production of
algae and phytoplankton could be added to the water regularly to support
photosynthetic growth. The organisms needed to have a productive ecosystem
could be added at the site to develop a productive community. Seaweed and
other plant communities could be established. Solar panels with battery
storage could be used for electricity. The community could have a boat to take
harvested products to market and bring supplies from land regularly. Delivery
using drones might be possible as well. There is a large part of the ocean that
needs to be fertilized to have productive primary growth of biomass. Nitrogen,
phosphorus, iron, and silicon are the elements that have been identified as
limiting nutrients for primary productivity in the ocean (Sigman and Hain,
2012). While about 80% of the surface of the Earth is covered by water, only
about 50% of primary carbon fixation by photosynthesis occurs in the oceans.
This is not a far- off hypothetical scenario. There are some individuals
that are farming the ocean and producing seaweed, kelp, and other sea
vegetables using a three- dimensional underwater scaffolding support system
(Schiffman, 2016). Oysters, mussels, scallops, and shellfish are harvested
in the area of the growing plants. One of the challenges of ocean farming,
though, is to manage the ocean farming volume in an environmentally positive way such that environmental quality improves – rather than degrades –
because of the actions taken to make the location productive.