Drone Reforestation: Technology for Natural Carbon Capture
Turning the tide on climate change will likely require the sequestration of runaway carbon emissions, but carbon capture technologies are prohibitively expensive. Luckily, there’s a classic “technology” that can do the job at a fraction of the cost… trees.
Trees have always naturally sequestered carbon dioxide while producing oxygen, so why not scale-up that cost-effective solution? Today, two innovative mission-driven companies are pairing state-of-the-art drones with classic foliage to make a dent in emissions.
Dendra Systems
UK based company Dendra Systems , formerly Biocarbon Engineering, has a goal of planting 500 billion trees in the next 40 years. Ambitious would be a gross understatement.
Dendra has developed drones that can plant two trees per second by shooting down biodegradable pods containing a seed and its necessary nutrients to grow. But the drones don’t fire seedpods willy-nilly. Instead, they scan an area while flying over it and gather data about the landscape and soil. That information coupled with satellite data helps Dendra determine the right species for the right, often difficult to reach, locations.
Pachama
Another company taking a different approach to using drones for reforestation is Pachama. The company derives its name from Pachamama, a goddess in Inca mythology who looks after planting and harvesting in the Andes mountains.
makes reforestation profitable for people who plant and maintain trees by tapping into the carbon offset markets. One key barrier to unlocking the value of carbon credits for farmers and forestkeepers is the ability to verify how much carbon is sequestered in an area.
Pachama has combined drones with machine learning in order to fly above forests and provide accurate reporting of their carbon capture. The company also uses satellite imagery to monitor the growth of forest projects to ensure visibility and accuracy.
To learn more about carbon credits and Pachama’s technology, check out the video on the website: www.pachama.com
Originally published at https://cleantechrising.com on December 13, 2019.
