April 26, 2016
Via Nasa.gov
Carbon Dioxide Fertilization Greening Earth, Study Finds
From a quarter to half of Earth’s vegetated lands has shown significant greening over the last 35 years largely due to rising levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide, according to a new study published in the journal Nature Climate Change on April 25.
An international team of 32 authors from 24 institutions in eight countries led the effort, which involved using satellite data from NASA’s Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer instruments to help determine the leaf area index, or amount of leaf cover, over the planet’s vegetated regions. The greening represents an increase in leaves on plants and trees equivalent in area to two times the continental United States.
Credits: Boston University/R. Myneni
Green leaves use energy from sunlight through photosynthesis to chemically combine carbon dioxide drawn in from the air with water and nutrients tapped from the ground to produce sugars, which are the main source of food, fiber and fuel for life on Earth. Studies have shown that increased concentrations of carbon dioxide increase photosynthesis, spurring plant growth.
However, carbon dioxide fertilization isn’t the only cause of increased plant growth—nitrogen, land cover change and climate change by way of global temperature, precipitation and sunlight changes all contribute to the greening effect. To determine the extent of carbon dioxide’s contribution, researchers ran the data for carbon dioxide and each of the other variables in isolation through several computer models that mimic the plant growth observed in the satellite data.
Results showed that carbon dioxide fertilization explains 70 percent of the greening effect, said co-author Ranga Myneni, a professor in the Department of Earth and Environment at Boston University. “The second most important driver is nitrogen, at 9 percent. So we see what an outsized role CO2 plays in this process.”
From a quarter to half of Earth’s vegetated lands has shown significant greening over the last 35 years largely due to rising levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide.
This video is public domain and can be downloaded from the Scientific Visualization Studio.
About 85 percent of Earth’s ice-free lands is covered by vegetation. The area covered by all the green leaves on Earth is equal to, on average, 32 percent of Earth’s total surface area – oceans, lands and permanent ice sheets combined. The extent of the greening over the past 35 years “has the ability to fundamentally change the cycling of water and carbon in the climate system,” said lead author Zaichun Zhu, a researcher from Peking University, China, who did the first half of this study with Myneni as a visiting scholar at Boston University.
Every year, about half of the 10 billion tons of carbon emitted into the atmosphere from human activities remains temporarily stored, in about equal parts, in the oceans and plants. “While our study did not address the connection between greening and carbon storage in plants, other studies have reported an increasing carbon sink on land since the 1980s, which is entirely consistent with the idea of a greening Earth,” said co-author Shilong Piao of the College of Urban and Environmental Sciences at Peking University.
While rising carbon dioxide concentrations in the air can be beneficial for plants, it is also the chief culprit of climate change. The gas, which traps heat in Earth’s atmosphere, has been increasing since the industrial age due to the burning of oil, gas, coal and wood for energy and is continuing to reach concentrations not seen in at least 500,000 years. The impacts of climate change include global warming, rising sea levels, melting glaciers and sea ice as well as more severe weather events.
The beneficial impacts of carbon dioxide on plants may also be limited, said co-author Dr. Philippe Ciais, associate director of the Laboratory of Climate and Environmental Sciences, Gif-suv-Yvette, France. “Studies have shown that plants acclimatize, or adjust, to rising carbon dioxide concentration and the fertilization effect diminishes over time.”
“While the detection of greening is based on data, the attribution to various drivers is based on models,” said co-author Josep Canadell of the Oceans and Atmosphere Division in the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation in Canberra, Australia. Canadell added that while the models represent the best possible simulation of Earth system components, they are continually being improved.
Read the paper at Nature Climate Change.
For more information about NASA’s Earth science activities, visit:
By Samson Reiny
NASA’s Earth Science News Team
For further information, contact Ranga Myneni at Boston University
Last Updated: Aug. 6, 2017
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“While rising carbon dioxide concentrations in the air can be beneficial for plants, it is also the chief culprit of climate change. The gas, which traps heat in Earth’s atmosphere, has been increasing since the industrial age due to the burning of oil, gas, coal and wood for energy and is continuing to reach concentrations not seen in at least 500,000 years. The impacts of climate change include global warming, rising sea levels, melting glaciers and sea ice as well as more severe weather events.”
It seems the assertions in this article can be shown to be incorrect based on Randall Carlson’s related articles elsewhere on the site. I’m a bit confused as to why this NASA article is posted here.
I agree with your summation, at least they have begun the process of using evidence based reasoning regarding climate change. The last paragraph strikes me as a face saving device and a sign of the recognition that the old propaganda is losing it’s capacity to sway critical thinkers.
We do not agree wholeheartedly with everything in the article of course, but it is a good sign they are publishing a benefit of enhanced anthropogenic CO2 production instead of more baseless dooms day prophesies.
Cheers.
Not to be a jerk, but no scientific study has proven that the rise in carbon dioxide is the cause of climate change, its only correlation. Also, it is uncertain as to what the actual portion of co2 is anthropogenic, but some estimate that its merely a fraction of the source. At least as far as I know from some academic research I conducted a year or so ago (someone please correct me if I am out of date!) I think the point is, as NASA projects and Randall expresses, that ecological processes are dynamic and each event can result in a multitude of “good” or “bad” effects from our human perspective. Even so, good or bad…these processes are cyclical!
If you re-read my comment, you’ll realize we are in agreement.
Yes, I have listened to Randall too. And I agree he is a brilliant man. However, two things.
Randall was comparing anthropocentric climate change to a multiple impact event as per the Younger Dryas. He was NOT saying humans are not altering the climate. He was comparing what we have been doing to what would happen should a large rock hit our planet. What he was saying is, dealing with the one doesn’t do anything about the other. You should have listened to Randall a few minutes longer.
Two ; Randall Carlsons own climate charts show an EXTREME spike at the very end. A spike which corresponds to the last few decades. If this trend continues, things are going to get very uncomfortable on this planet. Especially for the folks who live near the shore. How high is your house? Mine is at 86 feet, and I am 50 miles from the Ocean. If all the ice melts, sea level will be 260 feet higher. What will happen to every coastal city on Earth? And where will everyone go?