Abstract:
In his seminar, Prof. Himanshu Mishra will challenge a commonly held assumption: that growing plants necessarily leads to net carbon capture. This question is crucial as Saudi Arabia and several other Gulf nations have pledged to plant billions of trees to offset their carbon footprint and realize broader ecosystem benefits. However, growing plants in sandy, alkaline soils is a daunting endeavor: these soils struggle to retain water and nutrients, while alkalinity limits the availability of key nutrients.
The seminar presents his group’s research on Carbosoil™, a KAUST-developed engineered biochar, to address these challenges. By converting organic waste, such as date palm residues and animal manure that would otherwise be landfilled or burned, into a soil amendment, this approach explores how desert soils can support plant growth and long-term carbon storage.
The material acts as a sponge for nutrients and resists breakdown, allowing it to persist in soils over long periods. Field trials with industrial partners in Saudi Arabia have shown enhanced growth of native plants in treated sandy soils. However, plant growth alone does not tell the full story: carbon accounting has revealed that emissions from irrigation and fertilization can outweigh the carbon captured by plants in untreated soils. The findings show how the amendment’s long-term carbon storage, combined with enhanced plant growth, can shift this balance toward net carbon capture.
Prof. Mishra will present these findings alongside comparisons with common soil amendments, including peat moss and compost, examining their implications for resource-use efficiency, carbon capture, and economics. Drawing on multiyear field trials, he will also explore what these insights mean for desert agriculture, and what it takes for greening efforts to deliver lasting environmental benefits.
Together, these results chart a science-based, field-tested path toward the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals of Zero Hunger (SDG 2), Climate Action (SDG 13), and Life on Land (SDG 15).
Prof. Mishra’s research on desert soils, food security, and carbon capture have been featured by CNN. Watch the feature here.

Bio:
Professor Himanshu Mishra, FRSC, is a scientist-entrepreneur at KAUST. His group is known for debunking myths in the chemical science of the air–water interface, and for transforming deserts into permanently fertile landscapes for global food–water–climate security. His team has pioneered Carbosoil™, a #SaudiMade soil amendment derived from organic waste that enhances nutrient- and water-use efficiency in sandy soils while delivering durable carbon credits. Validated with Aramco, JEDCO, King Salman Park, NEOM, and other national stakeholders, Carbosoil™ has reached Technology Readiness Level 8. Through his start-up Terraxy, backed by a $3M seed round led by Aramco's Wa'ed Ventures, Mishra's team is building an industrial facility near Riyadh to serve Saudi Arabia's giga-projects.