Warming temperatures can boost the growth of vegetation, potentially allowing plants to take up greater amounts of carbon, keeping it out of the atmosphere and possibly putting a damper on climate change. But new research finds that this possible climate-cooling influence won’t pan out over the long term.
According to a new study published in the journal PNAS, the initial increase in biomass in a warming climate slows down under extended warming. “In the long-term, this impact might even result in a decline in biomass,” says Gerard Ros, a researcher in earth systems and global change at Wageningen Univ. in the Netherlands. The decline could be on the order of 4% to 16% under 2°C of warming, Ros and his colleagues reported.
▲ According to new research, the increase in biomass due to climate warming actually slows down under extended warming conditions. In tropical regions, warming temperatures are more likely to lead to plant death.
The...
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