Outstanding are the ecological benefits of hemp, with applications focused on environmental care. We demonstrate that a productive development can arise from a simple yet sophisticated plant.
Phytoremediation
Hemp removes heavy metals from the soil, possessing the ability to decontaminate soils. According to a study by the Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment and the University of Catania in Italy.
“Two varieties of hemp were tested in soils contaminated with heavy metals such as lead, cadmium, and nickel during 2021 and 2022.
These heavy metals were not chosen randomly. They are the most prevalent in contaminated Italian soils.” Scientific research demonstrated the plant’s ability “to translocate metals from the soil to the aerial parts of the plants, suggesting a good potential for the phytoextraction process.”
This study is not the only one that has highlighted the ability and ecological benefits of hemp, extracting heavy metals from the soil to the plant. The literature supports that hemp can provide a sustainable and economical solution for soil decontamination.
The ecological benefits of hemp[/caption>
Among the study’s conclusions is the suggestion that these plants that absorb and store heavy metals can be used for biomass without generating further environmental impacts. “The remaining biomass, such as stems and leaves, can be further valorized by converting it into bioenergy, increasing the interest in industrial hemp,” noted the Italian researchers.
CO2 Sequestrator
Hemp has the ability to absorb carbon from the atmosphere twice as effectively as forests and, at the same time, provides carbon-negative biomaterials, according to Darshil Shah, lead researcher at the Centre for Natural Material Innovation at Cambridge.
<p“Numerous studies estimate that hemp is one of the best converters of CO2 into biomass. It is even more effective than trees,” Shah added. “Industrial hemp absorbs between 8 and 15 tons of CO2 per hectare of cultivation.By comparison, forests typically capture 2 to 6 tons of CO2 per hectare per year, depending on the number of years of growth, the climatic region, the tree type, etc.,” explained the scientist.
The Centre for Natural Material Innovation, part of the Department of Architecture at the University of Cambridge, conducts research on biomaterials with the aim of “transforming the way we build to achieve zero carbon emissions”.
Shah’s work encompasses wood for engineering applications, bamboo, natural fiber composites, and hemp, which he described as “a multi-use crop that offers materials and resources in multiple forms”.
Hemp plant
Tallest Plant on the Planet
“We are the first to register ‘the tallest hemp plant in the world’ in the Guinness World Records.” This is how the producers at Hemp Traders, a farm located in southern Los Angeles, California, who grow hemp to use its fiber, tell the story.
With the goal of “promoting healthy competition in the industry” and taking advantage of one of their plants reaching 7.34 meters, they decided to call on those who certify the Guinness Records so that the cannabis plant can be included in the book.
<p“As no one has done this yet, we will be the first in history to enter that list,” state the Hemp Traders. “This particular case is not a clone but a seed that was planted on March 5 and had around six months to grow in a climate that favors it since winters in California do not have very low temperatures,” they comment and affirm that they use a dense cultivation system so that the plants grow upwards and not sideways. <p“Additionally, we do not use pesticides or herbicides. We add small amounts of nitrogen as fertilizer and irrigate the crops by drip,” assure the producers.More Hemp, More Bees
According to a study published in a scientific journal where researchers from Colorado State University (USA) set up ten traps in hemp fields in the northern part of the state and collected bees over the course of five days during the peak flowering season.
The team reported 20 different genera of bees attracted to the hemp in bloom, demonstrating that this crop can attract pollinators as important as these, as the pollen from male hemp flowers is used to feed bee larvae.
Although the plant species does not produce nectar, the abundant and pollen-rich nature of male flowers makes it an ecologically important crop to mitigate the decline of key pollinators.
When researchers took a closer look at the collection, they found close to 2,000 bees, of which 38% were classic honey bees. Specifically, they found Apis mellifera (38%), Melissodes (25%), Peponapis (16%), and Bombus (5%), which represented more than 80% of the total bees in the samples.
The research is quite intriguing because it means that hemp fields create a conducive and ecologically beneficial ecosystem whose flowers can attract a wide range of wild bees, in addition to generating overall biodiversity.
The Ecological Benefits of Hemp and the SDGs
The European Consumption and Cultivation Observatory links the regulation of hemp with the achievement of most of the Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda in a report delivered to its Governments.
<p“Simply put, the ecological benefits of hemp, a plant that lies at the heart of a million problems and with another million emergencies. Therefore, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its million issues constitute a relevant framework to analyze cannabis and public policies in this regard.”This is what the report states. “Due to its characteristics, its massive cultivation and uses, and the diversity of applications of products derived from the plant, a link was found between the Cannabis Sativa L. plant (and its public policies) and at least 64 of the 169 targets that are part of 15 of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) within the 2030 Agenda”.
This is what the global roadmap approved by all the Member States of the United Nations (UN) affirms. “Sustainability in relation to hemp is also related to 75 of the 104 operational recommendations.”
The ecological benefits of hemp, as stated in another key document adopted by the UNGASS at the 30th special session of the UN General Assembly.
Germán Pereira (RecetasCañameras)
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