Posted on 07/09/2013 2:18:49 PM PDT by kathsua
Increased levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) have helped boost green foliage across the world’s arid regions over the past 30 years through a process called CO2 fertilisation, according to CSIRO research.
In findings based on satellite observations, CSIRO, in collaboration with the Australian National University (ANU), found that this CO2 fertilisation correlated with an 11 per cent increase in foliage cover from 1982-2010 across parts of the arid areas studied in Australia, North America, the Middle East and Africa, according to CSIRO research scientist, Dr Randall Donohue.
“In Australia, our native vegetation is superbly adapted to surviving in arid environments and it consequently uses water very efficiently,” Dr Donohue said. “Australian vegetation seems quite sensitive to CO2 fertilisation.
The fertilisation effect occurs where elevated CO2 enables a leaf during photosynthesis, the process by which green plants convert sunlight into sugar, to extract more carbon from the air or lose less water to the air, or both.
This, along with the vast extents of arid landscapes, means Australia featured prominently in our results.”
“While a CO2 effect on foliage response has long been speculated, until now it has been difficult to demonstrate,” according to Dr Donohue.
“Our work was able to tease-out the CO2 fertilisation effect by using mathematical modelling together with satellite data adjusted to take out the observed effects of other influences such as precipitation, air temperature, the amount of light, and land-use changes.”
The fertilisation effect occurs where elevated CO2 enables a leaf during photosynthesis, the process by which green plants convert sunlight into sugar, to extract more carbon from the air or lose less water to the air, or both.
If elevated CO2 causes the water use of individual leaves to drop, plants in arid environments will respond by increasing their total numbers of leaves. These changes in leaf cover can be detected by satellite, particularly in deserts and savannas where the cover is less complete than in wet locations, according to Dr Donohue.
“On the face of it, elevated CO2 boosting the foliage in dry country is good news and could assist forestry and agriculture in such areas; however there will be secondary effects that are likely to influence water availability, the carbon cycle, fire regimes and biodiversity, for example,” Dr Donohue said.
“Ongoing research is required if we are to fully comprehend the potential extent and severity of such secondary effects.”
This study was published in the US Geophysical Research Letters journal and was funded by CSIRO’s Sustainable Agriculture Flagship, Water for a Healthy Country Flagship, the Australian Research Council and Land & Water Australia.
Great. The Realtors will love this!
Ping
CO2 is green!
Are we still at war with Eastasia?
CO2 = Good
leftist kooks = Bad
Life will take the goodness it is given, and give more.
I see France has just banned sale of the latest Mercedes cars over the AC coolant.
Greenies are insane.
Green deserts = cooler temps.
A while back the globull warming alarmists had a press release stating that “globull warming is going to make poison ivy grow faster”! Of course it makes practically all (all?) green plants grow quicker, but the intention of the story was to scare people.
Once upon a time when overeducated idiots and third-worlders didn’t run the nation, the greening of deserts would have been applauded as a miracle.
Continuation of the war between the frogs and the krauts.
So.....the new green plants growing in the former desert regions will breathe in the CO2 and breath out oxygen.
Almost as if some incredibly smart greater power designed the whole thing.
a process called CO2 fertilisation,
“I see France has just banned sale of the latest Mercedes cars over the AC coolant.”
This is a trade war issue. They can’t just say no more foreign made cars. That’s against the GATT treaty. So, they find environmental excuses.
All I know is that I am cutting grass twice a week now. The stuff is running wild.
I never saw such a beautiful crop of corn, you can see it grow each day.
Rain and CO2 makes things grow.
It started out as the Greenhouse Effect, but, since greenhouses are good for growing things, it was changed to Global Warming. (Unless there’s a record cold/snowfall...then it’s Climate Change. Which used to be called weather.)
Anyway, perhaps this “greening” is happening because God knows the earth is going to need more food.
One of Al Gores houses....
Former Vice President Al Gore's new $9 million ocean-view villa property in Montecito, CA. The two-story Italian-esque villa boasts five bedrooms, nine bathrooms, (for a single guy) and six fireplaces. Complete with high ceilings, a wine cellar, terraces, and an exquisite outdoor pool, the property itself is 1.5 acres. Other Montecito inhabitants include talk show giant Oprah Winfrey, Michael Douglas, Christopher Lloyd, and golfer Fred Couples.
Now after the tornados and hurricanes we've had the past few years they are now calling it "climate disbalance". Hmmm, are tornadoes and hurricanes a new invention?)
I am not kidding, I read an article a few weeks ago and they were using that word! lol
Weird.. just weird. Amazing how Mother Nature just keeps doing her ting.. no matter how many libs shake a fist at her.
““While a CO2 effect on foliage response has long been speculated, until now it has been difficult to demonstrate,” according to Dr Donohue.”
At CO2 Science.org the subject has been reported on for years. Where has this guy been while the studies were done and published?
Greenhouse growers have known of the effects of higher co2 levels.
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