Watch a video report of MSU researchers at work in Thailand and Laos.
Through the Carbon2Markets program, MSU scientists are helping small farmers in 10 Asian and African countries integrate high-value forest crops into crops they're currently growing. While the forest crops are maturing – a shea tree, for example, may take 20 years to produce nuts – the farmers use techniques and standards created by the MSU remote-sensing experts to accurately measure and record the carbon stored by the trees and soil. Accurately measuring the stored carbon offers the farmers the potential to earn money on the global carbon market, another incentive for the farmers to plant the forest crops. Here's a description of three crops: jatropha, shea and teak.
Jatropha is a small shrub-like tree that is resistant to drought and pests; it needs few nutrients and little water to grow. The trees are between 9 and 15 feet tall when mature and produce greenish seed pods about the size of a golf ball. The seeds are 37 percent oil (in comparison, a soybean is 18 percent oil and a kernel of corn is 4 percent oil) and can be crushed and processed into biodiesel. The seed residue that is left over after crushing can be used as raw material to power electric plants. The seeds contain compounds that are toxic to humans and animals, so the seed meal can't be used as animal feed unless it's treated to remove the toxins. Believed to be native to the Caribbean, Mexico and Central America, jatropha is now being grown in arid and semi-arid countries worldwide. For more detailed information about jatropha, visit http://www.jatrophaworld.org/.
The shea tree grows throughout semi-arid West Africa, slowly reaching an average height of about 45 feet after 30 years or so. A young shea tree can stay less than 3 feet tall for several years and doesn't start producing nuts until its 15 or 20 years old. The nuts, which are about 50 percent oil, are processed into shea butter, an edible oil as well as an ingredient in many high-end cosmetics, moisturizers, soaps and candles. The nut pulp residue left over after the oil is extracted is used as a waterproofing material on the walls of mud buildings to protect them from wind and rain. Shea trees also can produce large amounts of sap that could be an important source of raw material for the gum and rubber industry.
Native to Southeast Asia, teak is in high demand around the world for high-end furniture, flooring and doors because the wood is durable and resistant to insects. Teak beams have endured in palaces and temples for more than 1,000 years. Teak is easy to establish in plantations and grows rapidly, so many small farmers in Asia are considering planting teak plantations as an agro-forestry crop on their land. Since Thailand instituted a logging ban in 1989, teak's market value has increased rapidly. It can take more than 15 years for teak to mature.
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