The world’s forests are vital in the fight against climate change, as they absorb around a quarter of the greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere. Trees need carbon atoms to grow and thus provide us humans with an ecosystem service by absorbing large amounts of carbon dioxide from the air.
When greenhouse gas concentrations rise, trees and other plants can also contribute further by stepping up their photosynthesis. Thanks to this increase in production in the photosynthetic factory, trees can thus grow faster than normal by storing even more carbon. This phenomenon is known as carbon dioxide fertilisation.
In a new study, researchers have investigated the effects of carbon dioxide fertilisation and the extent to which this effect could help in reducing greenhouse gas levels in the atmosphere into the future.
“For carbon dioxide fertilisation to work, trees need nutrients such as phosphorus and nitrogen from the soil,” says Benjamin Smith, professor of ecosystem science and BECC member, Lund University, and one of the researchers behind the study.
Continue reading
The full text is available at the following link: Phosphorus deficiency may exacerbate climate problems | Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences
Read the article in the Journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences: Phosphorus enrichment does not enlarge the predicted CO2 fertilization effect on forest carbon sequestration | PNAS