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Biosphere, The, and CO2

Posted by Administrator (admin) on 9th February, 2010
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Increased CO2 concentration protects plants against loss of water ( - because with more CO2 available in the atmosphere, the pores needs to remain open for shorter time periods when catching CO2 - and less water escapes in the process). This helps plant growth especially near desserts and  in higher altitudes due to the lower water availanility. Below: Trends in plant growth for Sahel 1980-2003 as CO2 concentrations rose in the atmosphere:

 

 

Far most plant species grows significantly better when adding more CO2: http://www.co2science.org/data/plant_growth/dry/dry_subject.php

 

More plant growth equals more food on the table. Below we see that in just 18 years 1980-1998 the earth in average has become 6% more bountiful that is, the land biosphere is 6% bigger in just 18 years:

 

(In the graphic, areas with low plant growth are not included, e.g. Sahel)

http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/300/5625/1560

Last changed: 9th February, 2010 at 09:03:27

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Comments

Sahel By Unknown on 5th June, 2011 at 15:54:46
Yes but the rise in productivity in the Sahel could be due to a number of things. I visited the area in 1984 and there was a considerable de-desertification process going on in the northern regions, nothing to do with CO2 concentrarions

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