Via Craig D. Idso – April 21, 2022
Dr. Craig Idso, President of Center for Carbon Dioxide Research and Global Change, invites readers to join him in a new series of articles that discuss the many ways that increased atmospheric carbon dioxide benefits humans and nature. His introduction is this.
“Based on many of the experiments listed there, I can tell you that, typically, the amount of CO in the air increases by 300 ppm.2 content… will raise the yield of most herbaceous plants by about a third, whose stimulation is usually manifested by an increase in the number of branches and branches, more and denser leaves, and a developed root system. wider, and more flowers and fruit. ”
Perhaps the most important and well-known biological benefit of Earth’s rise in the atmosphere (CO).2) concentration is enhanced plant production.
In the last five decades literally Thousands Laboratory and field studies have been performed to examine plant growth-related responses to higher levels of CO in the atmosphere.2. This CO2-enrichment studiesas they were called, almost unanimously agreed with what they found — increased CO . levels2 significantly enhance plant photosynthesis and stimulate growth.
This favorable result is a result of the fact that carbon dioxide is the main material used by plants during photosynthesis to build and construct their tissues. Think of it if you want to be the basic sustenance “food” for all the plants on the Earth’s surface. And, fortunately, the more CO2 plants “eat” or get from the air during photosynthesis, the larger they are and tend to grow better.
My company, Center for Carbon Dioxide Research and Global Changehas been studying the effects of CO in the atmosphere2 in plants for many decades now. On our website we maintain a Plant Growth Databasewhere we stored the results of thousands of CO2 Enrichment research on hundreds of plants
Based on many of the experiments listed there, I can tell you that, typically, a 300 ppm increase in atmospheric CO2 content (note that the planet has passed about half such an increase since the Industrial Revolution began and will complete this full increase of 300 ppm before the end of this century) would raise the yield of most herbaceous crops by about a third. , whose stimulation is usually manifested by an increase in the number of branches and tillering, more dense and dense leaves, wider root development, and more flowers and fruits.
Figure 1. Percent change in different growth and yield-related parameters of two bean varieties in response to a 169 ppm increase in atmospheric CO2. The data presented in this graph are taken from Tables 1 and 2 by Kumari et al. (2019).
Figure 1 above illustrates the growth and yield-related benefits for two bean cultivars in response to a 169 ppm increase in atmospheric CO.2 contents. Averaged for both plants, this relatively small increase in CO2 tree height increased by 13.9%, dry weight 35.4%, number of fruits per tree increased by 18.7%, fruit length 11.6%, fruit circumference increased by 16.5%, number of seeds per fruit 28, 4%, average fruit weight 41.5%, fruit yield per tree is 33.7% and total fruit yield is 33.7%. Such increases are remarkable because they are produced only by scientists who increase the air with more CO .2.
Growth response of woody plants to atmospheric CO2 Getting rich has also been studied extensively. A review of many individual woody plant experiments showed an average growth rate of 50% to approximately double the amount of CO2 in the air.2 content (ie, 300 ppm increase).
Figure 2. Eldarica pine was grown at the US Water Conservation Laboratory in the mid-1980s by Dr. Sherwood Idso in CO2 the air and the air is enriched with an additional 150, 300 and 400 ppm of atmospheric CO2. Image copyright and permission of the author.
Figure 2 illustrate this phenomenon for pines grown in normal air and air enriched with 150, 300, and 450 ppm CO2. Taken 35 years ago, the person in the photo is my father, Dr. Sherwood Idso, who for many years worked at the US Water Conservation Laboratory in Phoenix, Arizona, demonstrating the beneficial effects of CO in the atmosphere. book.2 get rich from plant growth, long before it became politically inconvenient to do so.
In one of his more famous experiments, my father grew sour oranges in ambient and CO2Air rich in the Phoenix Desert for nearly two decades. In that study, the longest experiment ever conducted anywhere in the world, plants were exposed to CO2 Concentrations greater than 75% than normal annually produce 70% more biomass and 85% more fruit. And when icing on the cake, so to speak, the concentration of vitamin C in the juice of CO2– oranges cost from 5 to 15% bigger much more than orange juice produces on plants growing in ambient air.
Although much less studied than terrestrial plants, many aquatic plants are also known to respond to atmospheric CO.2 enrichment, including unicellular phytoplankton and benthic macrophytes of both freshwater and saltwater species. Therefore, perhaps there is no photosynthetic plant that does not respond positively to atmospheric CO2 enrichment and that is unlikely to benefit from the continued increase of CO in the air2 contents.
So, what are the growth-enhancing benefits of atmospheric CO?2 enrich the biosphere?
One obvious consequence is greater crop yields; and many researchers have acknowledged the productivity-enhancing benefits of historical and ongoing increases in atmospheric CO.2 content about past, present and future crop yields. In this regard, in my own research on the subject, I have calculated that the benefit of CO2 Agriculture is so important that without them, the world food supply could fall short of world food demand just a few short decades from now.
I also calculated the direct monetary benefit of atmospheric CO2 rich on both history and future global crop production. Over the past 50 years, that benefit has amounted to more than $3 trillion. And forecasting the monetary value of this positive externality in the future suggests that it will provide an additional $10 trillion in crop production over the next 50 years. However, as amazing as this estimate sounds, it is very possible low valuation.
Figure 3. Percent change in grain yield for 16 different rice genotypes in response to a 300 ppm increase in atmospheric CO2. Source: Decosta et al. (2007).
For example, consider the fact that rice is the third most important food crop globally, accounting for about 9% of global food production. Based on data presented in my institution’s Plant Growth Database, the average growth response of rice plants to a 300 ppm increase in atmospheric CO2 concentration is 33.3% (n = 428, standard error = 1.5%). However, as shown in Figure 3, a team of researchers who studied the growth responses of 16 different rice genotypes reported CO2– grain yield increased in genotypes ranging from near 0 to large + 263%. Thus, if countries knew how to determine which genotype provided the greatest increase in production per unit of CO,2 increased, and then evolved those genotypes, the world could collectively produce enough food to easily supply the needs of all its inhabitants, end world hunger, and prevent hunger. Food shortages are projected to result in just a few short decades from now on the planet’s growing population.
Unfortunately, too many individuals and governments are locked into the misconception that CO2 is a contaminant and so research has made a lot of progress but little in this respect. Maybe one day this will change when enough good people stand up and admit to being the father of the modern factory CO.2 Researcher, Dr. Sylvan H. Wittwer, once stated that “it should be a blessing that we live in a world where atmospheric CO levels are steadily increasing.2“And that” increased levels of CO in the atmosphere2 is a free global premium, which increases over time, that we can all calculate for the future. “
Only time will tell.
Presenter
De Costa, WAJM, Weerakoon, WMW, Chinthaka, KGR, Herath, HMLK and Abeywardena, RMI 2007. Genotypic variation in rice response (Oryza sativa L.) to increase atmospheric carbon dioxide and its physiological basis. Journal of Agronomy & Crop Science 193: 117-130.
Kumari, M., Verma, SC and Bhardwaj, SK 2019. Effects of elevated CO2 and temperature for parameters contributing to pea growth and yield (Pisum sativum L.) crops. Journal of Agricultural Meteorology21: 7-11.
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