By Vijay Jayaraj
A farmer in South Korea’s Gyeongbok Province is carefully tending to his potato fields, while halfway around the world the engines of a thousand cars idle on American interstates. This seemingly disjointed scene shows a bond through the fertilization effect of atmospheric carbon dioxide, which has been greening the Earth for decades.
Yes, CO2 effluent from tailpipes and industrial flues is good for plants and all life, contrary to the alarming tales that make this invisible gas an environmental bogeyman. Add CO2 Concentration literally makes the world greener, and in many cases, the production of the crop can be recorded.
A 2020 study, funded by the Cooperative Research Program for the Development of Agricultural Science & Technology, reported that potatoes were grown in a high CO atmosphere.2—similar to what to expect in the coming decades—not only alive but thriving!
The plants produced “increased growth and different development and the photosynthesis rate of the canopy net during tuber initiation and bulking. As a result, the biomass and canopy net photosynthesis increased, and the tuber yield increased by 20.3%,” wrote the researchers.
This is not only good news for potato farmers. Co2 The effect of fertilization plays a role in the photosynthesis of all plants, and the increase in gas acts as a kind of turbo boost. Significant increases were seen in wheat, rice, soybeans and corn—all staple crops that feed billions.
As CO2 Concentration increases, the need for water for many plants decreases, making people more tolerant of drought – the scourge of farmers for millennia.
In the US as well, agriculture has grown due to the addition of CO2 in the atmosphere, including the agricultural heartland of the Midwest. As data analysis in CO2 The coalition’s report on the Midwest shows that it is very clear that the warm climate and the composition of atmospheric carbon dioxide are increasing the yield of corn and soybeans in the Midwest.
As Americans contribute approximately 14 metric tons of carbon dioxide per person per year, these emissions are fertilizing crops around the globe.
The greening effect goes beyond agriculture. Satellite data from NASA suggests that greening over the past 35 years is due to the combined effects of high CO2 levels and optimal temperatures for plant growth.
Rising emissions from China and India from their growing use of fossil fuels contribute to this global greening and benefit from ambitious tree planting programs and intensive agriculture. Certain countries in Europe have also increased their forest area. In fact, “36 countries gained more trees than they lost,” reports the World Resources Institute.
In fact, the rate of greening due to CO2 will be higher than the browning rate of dry landscape expansion. Researchers at a Chinese university said that “by the end of this century, dry land will increase by less than 5%, while vegetation productivity will increase by about 50%.” The CO is promoted2 impedes the expansion of drylands and “greatly promotes the growth of vegetation with increases in both leaf assimilation and canopy foliage,” they said.
Dr. Indur Goklany reports that 70% of the recent greening of the earth is attributed to emissions from the burning of fossil fuels and that “technologies dependent on fossil fuels have directly or indirectly increased agricultural yields by at least 167%.”
Whether tomato plants in Europe or tropical forests in India, it is clear that CO2-enriched online has been greening the planet, and we as a society have been positive contributors to that. You might say that CO2 as green energy for plant life.
This comment was first published on California Globe on November 18, 2024.
Vijay Jayaraj is Associate Science and Research at Co2 coalitionArlington, Virginia. They holds an MS in environmental science from the University of East Anglia and a postgraduate degree in energy management from Robert Gordon University, both in England, and a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Anna University, India.
Related
