The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is rising constantly leading to a lot of awareness of the Carbon Footprints of a number of activities. It is believed that the rise in carbon dioxide is directly contributing to the global rise in temperature.

This makes it important to try and control the release of excessive carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. However it is also possible to reduce the amount of this greenhouse gas from the atmosphere by removing it from the air around us. That’s what scientists at the University of Hohenheim at Germany have been researching.

By planting the jatropha plant it is possible to absorb large amounts of carbon dioxide from the air. The plant is found naturally in arid regions and can substantially capture carbon from the air. They are now awaiting the cultivation of ten thousand hectares of the plant in the coastal region of Saudi Arabia. The large scale science project will be better able to determine just how effective the carbon capturing forest will be.

Natural carbon capture and storage in this manner is likely to be far more effective than the intrusive man made solutions. Needless to say this is one science project that could drastically affect the climate of the future.