CO2 Question

[engineerjoe]

I am looking for information concerning CO2 conversion rates of plants, specifically small plants, fungi, etc. All I can find are statements that a mature tree can convert about 50 lbs. of CO2 a year, but this really doesn’t help me. Can anyone answer any of the following:

 

1. What small plants convert CO2 the fastest?

2. Is there some basic formula or rule that can be applied to find out how much CO2 a plant converts?

3. If you don’t know this off-hand, do you know where I can find this information?

 

Thanks

[insane_alien]

this is probably one of those things that nobody has really bothered to get accurate data for(you'd be surprised at how many and how big the gaps are).

 

its going to be directly proportional to the surface area of clorophyl containing leaves. so try to find plants with lots of surface area on the green leaves. its also probably going to be proportional to the amount of clorophyl in the plant cells so have a look and see if you can find data on the amount of clorophyl a plant has.

[Mr Skeptic]

You may be able to get this info from the biomass growth, by subtracting the proportion of the biomass that is not carbon.

[Moontanman]

Azolla is one of the fastest growing small plants I know of. I grow it in large quantities to help purify water in ponds and aquariums.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azolla

 

This plant has huge potential in absorbing CO2 and may have been responsible for reversing a planet wide greenhouse effect 49 million years ago.

 

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azolla_event