Rising CO2 emissions has fueled a greener planet Earth, says new study
- 8 years ago
BEIJING — A new study published in the journal Nature Climate Change by an international team of 32 authors argues that the huge increase in atmospheric CO2 since the Industrial Revolution has driven a huge growth in plants.
American satellites have detected a greening of up to 50 percent of the Earth's vegetated land over the past 33 years. Only four percent of the vegetated land has suffered losses. The new study, which was led by Chinese and American researchers, states that if the extra leaves that grew as a result of rising CO2 levels were laid out like a carpet, the leaves would cover the entirety of two continental USAs.
According to the BBC, the scientists say that many factors are causing the vast increase in leaf cover, including more nitrogen in the environment and changes in land management. However, plants using the extra CO2 to fertilize their growth constitutes 70 percent of the plant boom we're witnessing.
Climate skeptics may jump on research like this as proof that rising CO2 concentrations benefit the planet. But this argument ignores the negative aspects of climate change such as rising sea levels, ocean acidification and more severe tropical storms.
The team of scientists involved in the recent research argues that at some point the plants will acclimatize to rising CO2 concentrations. Then, it will have no effect on them. Future plant growth is also limited by factors such as access to water and nutrients, which will likely be impacted by climate change.
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American satellites have detected a greening of up to 50 percent of the Earth's vegetated land over the past 33 years. Only four percent of the vegetated land has suffered losses. The new study, which was led by Chinese and American researchers, states that if the extra leaves that grew as a result of rising CO2 levels were laid out like a carpet, the leaves would cover the entirety of two continental USAs.
According to the BBC, the scientists say that many factors are causing the vast increase in leaf cover, including more nitrogen in the environment and changes in land management. However, plants using the extra CO2 to fertilize their growth constitutes 70 percent of the plant boom we're witnessing.
Climate skeptics may jump on research like this as proof that rising CO2 concentrations benefit the planet. But this argument ignores the negative aspects of climate change such as rising sea levels, ocean acidification and more severe tropical storms.
The team of scientists involved in the recent research argues that at some point the plants will acclimatize to rising CO2 concentrations. Then, it will have no effect on them. Future plant growth is also limited by factors such as access to water and nutrients, which will likely be impacted by climate change.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Welcome to TomoNews, where we animate the most entertaining news on the internets. Come here for an animated look at viral headlines, US news, celebrity gossip, salacious scandals, dumb criminals and much more! Subscribe now for daily news animations that will knock your socks off.
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Check out our Android app: http://bit.ly/1rddhCj
Check out our iOS app: http://bit.ly/1gO3z1f
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