New research reveals fig trees store carbon as stone, offering a hidden climate change fighting strategy.
In an amazing discovery, scientists have shown that some fig trees growing in Kenya can actually lock away carbon dioxide by turning it into stone — literally. These trees don’t just store carbon in their wood like most plants. They also use a special process to create tiny crystals of calcium carbonate, the same stuff that makes up limestone and chalk, right inside their trunks and in the soil around them. This means they’re helping fight climate change by taking CO₂ out of the air and storing it in a rock-like form that lasts way longer than regular tree carbon.
Researchers from Kenya, Switzerland, Austria, and the U.S. presented their findings at a major science conference in Prague. By studying three local fig species, they discovered that one, called Ficus wakefieldii, is especially good at pulling CO₂ from the air and turning it into these hidden stone deposits. They even used super high-tech scans at Stanford’s synchrotron lab to see how deep inside the trees this mineral was forming.
This natural process, known as the oxalate-carbonate pathway, isn’t totally new, but it’s the first time it’s been seriously explored in fruit trees. Now scientists are excited about the idea of choosing tree species for farms that not only give us food but also lock carbon away as stone, helping tackle climate change in a more powerful way. This groundbreaking work was led by teams from the University of Zurich, Nairobi Technical University, and other global institutes.
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In an amazing discovery, scientists have shown that some fig trees growing in Kenya can actually lock away carbon dioxide by turning it into stone — literally. These trees don’t just store carbon in their wood like most plants. They also use a special process to create tiny crystals of calcium carbonate, the same stuff that makes up limestone and chalk, right inside their trunks and in the soil around them. This means they’re helping fight climate change by taking CO₂ out of the air and storing it in a rock-like form that lasts way longer than regular tree carbon.
Researchers from Kenya, Switzerland, Austria, and the U.S. presented their findings at a major science conference in Prague. By studying three local fig species, they discovered that one, called Ficus wakefieldii, is especially good at pulling CO₂ from the air and turning it into these hidden stone deposits. They even used super high-tech scans at Stanford’s synchrotron lab to see how deep inside the trees this mineral was forming.
This natural process, known as the oxalate-carbonate pathway, isn’t totally new, but it’s the first time it’s been seriously explored in fruit trees. Now scientists are excited about the idea of choosing tree species for farms that not only give us food but also lock carbon away as stone, helping tackle climate change in a more powerful way. This groundbreaking work was led by teams from the University of Zurich, Nairobi Technical University, and other global institutes.
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