SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Rising Temperatures Reducing Ability of Plants to Absorb Carbon, Study Warns
Research shows warming over past decade caused droughts that reduced number of plants available to soak up carbon dioxide
Aug 20, 2010
Rising temperatures in the past decade have reduced the ability of the world's plants to soak up carbon from the atmosphere, scientists said today.
Large-scale
droughts have wiped out plants that would have otherwise absorbed an
amount of carbon equivalent to Britain's annual man-made greenhouse gas
emissions.
Scientists measure the amount of atmospheric carbon
dioxide absorbed by plants and turned into biomass as a quantity known
as the net primary production. NPP increased from 1982 to 1999 as
temperatures rose and there was more solar radiation.
But the
period from 2000 to 2009 reverses that trend - surprising some
scientists. Maosheng Zhao and Steven Running of the University of
Montana estimate that there has been a global reduction in NPP of 0.55
gigatonnes (Gt). In comparison, the UK's contribution to annual
worldwide carbon dioxide emissions was 0.56Gt in 2007, while global
aviation industry made up around 0.88Gt (3%) of the world total of
29.3Gt that year, according to UN data.
The researchers used data from the moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (Modis) on board Nasa's Terra satellite, combined with global climate data to measure the change in global NPP over the past decade.
"The past decade has been the warmest since instrumental measurements began, which could imply continued increases in NPP," wrote Zhao and Running in the journal Science.
But
instead of helping plants grow, these rising temperatures instead
caused droughts and water stresses, particularly in the southern
hemisphere and in rainforests, which contain most of the world's plant
biomass. The growth there has been curtailed by lack of water and
increased respiration, which returns carbon to the atmosphere. These
problems counteracted any increases in NPP seen at the high latitudes
and elevations in the northern hemisphere.
Reduced plant matter
not only reduces the world's natural ability to manage carbon dioxide in
the atmosphere but could also lead to problems with growing more crops
to feed rising populations or make sustainable biofuels.
"Under a
changing climate, severe regional droughts have become more frequent, a
trend expected to continue for the foreseeable future," said the
researchers. "The warming-associated heat and drought not only decrease
NPP, but also may trigger many more ecosystem disturbances, releasing
carbon to the atmosphere. Reduced NPP potentially threatens global food
security and future biofuel production and weakens the terrestrial
carbon sink."
The researchers conclude that further monitoring
will be needed to confirm whether the decrease in NPP they have observed
in the past decade is an anomaly or whether it signals a turning point
to a future decline in the world's ability to sequester carbon dioxide.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Rising temperatures in the past decade have reduced the ability of the world's plants to soak up carbon from the atmosphere, scientists said today.
Large-scale
droughts have wiped out plants that would have otherwise absorbed an
amount of carbon equivalent to Britain's annual man-made greenhouse gas
emissions.
Scientists measure the amount of atmospheric carbon
dioxide absorbed by plants and turned into biomass as a quantity known
as the net primary production. NPP increased from 1982 to 1999 as
temperatures rose and there was more solar radiation.
But the
period from 2000 to 2009 reverses that trend - surprising some
scientists. Maosheng Zhao and Steven Running of the University of
Montana estimate that there has been a global reduction in NPP of 0.55
gigatonnes (Gt). In comparison, the UK's contribution to annual
worldwide carbon dioxide emissions was 0.56Gt in 2007, while global
aviation industry made up around 0.88Gt (3%) of the world total of
29.3Gt that year, according to UN data.
The researchers used data from the moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (Modis) on board Nasa's Terra satellite, combined with global climate data to measure the change in global NPP over the past decade.
"The past decade has been the warmest since instrumental measurements began, which could imply continued increases in NPP," wrote Zhao and Running in the journal Science.
But
instead of helping plants grow, these rising temperatures instead
caused droughts and water stresses, particularly in the southern
hemisphere and in rainforests, which contain most of the world's plant
biomass. The growth there has been curtailed by lack of water and
increased respiration, which returns carbon to the atmosphere. These
problems counteracted any increases in NPP seen at the high latitudes
and elevations in the northern hemisphere.
Reduced plant matter
not only reduces the world's natural ability to manage carbon dioxide in
the atmosphere but could also lead to problems with growing more crops
to feed rising populations or make sustainable biofuels.
"Under a
changing climate, severe regional droughts have become more frequent, a
trend expected to continue for the foreseeable future," said the
researchers. "The warming-associated heat and drought not only decrease
NPP, but also may trigger many more ecosystem disturbances, releasing
carbon to the atmosphere. Reduced NPP potentially threatens global food
security and future biofuel production and weakens the terrestrial
carbon sink."
The researchers conclude that further monitoring
will be needed to confirm whether the decrease in NPP they have observed
in the past decade is an anomaly or whether it signals a turning point
to a future decline in the world's ability to sequester carbon dioxide.
Rising temperatures in the past decade have reduced the ability of the world's plants to soak up carbon from the atmosphere, scientists said today.
Large-scale
droughts have wiped out plants that would have otherwise absorbed an
amount of carbon equivalent to Britain's annual man-made greenhouse gas
emissions.
Scientists measure the amount of atmospheric carbon
dioxide absorbed by plants and turned into biomass as a quantity known
as the net primary production. NPP increased from 1982 to 1999 as
temperatures rose and there was more solar radiation.
But the
period from 2000 to 2009 reverses that trend - surprising some
scientists. Maosheng Zhao and Steven Running of the University of
Montana estimate that there has been a global reduction in NPP of 0.55
gigatonnes (Gt). In comparison, the UK's contribution to annual
worldwide carbon dioxide emissions was 0.56Gt in 2007, while global
aviation industry made up around 0.88Gt (3%) of the world total of
29.3Gt that year, according to UN data.
The researchers used data from the moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (Modis) on board Nasa's Terra satellite, combined with global climate data to measure the change in global NPP over the past decade.
"The past decade has been the warmest since instrumental measurements began, which could imply continued increases in NPP," wrote Zhao and Running in the journal Science.
But
instead of helping plants grow, these rising temperatures instead
caused droughts and water stresses, particularly in the southern
hemisphere and in rainforests, which contain most of the world's plant
biomass. The growth there has been curtailed by lack of water and
increased respiration, which returns carbon to the atmosphere. These
problems counteracted any increases in NPP seen at the high latitudes
and elevations in the northern hemisphere.
Reduced plant matter
not only reduces the world's natural ability to manage carbon dioxide in
the atmosphere but could also lead to problems with growing more crops
to feed rising populations or make sustainable biofuels.
"Under a
changing climate, severe regional droughts have become more frequent, a
trend expected to continue for the foreseeable future," said the
researchers. "The warming-associated heat and drought not only decrease
NPP, but also may trigger many more ecosystem disturbances, releasing
carbon to the atmosphere. Reduced NPP potentially threatens global food
security and future biofuel production and weakens the terrestrial
carbon sink."
The researchers conclude that further monitoring
will be needed to confirm whether the decrease in NPP they have observed
in the past decade is an anomaly or whether it signals a turning point
to a future decline in the world's ability to sequester carbon dioxide.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.