Greenhouse Gases and Carbon Sequestration

Nechton writes: "The results of a study discussed in an article in the May 24 research journal Nature indicate that elevated levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide may have more limited effect on forest growth than previously expected. While many short-term studies have shown atmospheric carbon dioxide (a "greenhouse" gas) increases tree growth, the experiments reported in Nature showed that without additional nutrients, initial growth increases of mature loblolly pine trees leveled off after the first three years of exposure. The presence of elevated levels of carbon dioxide alone, which is occurring due to global industrialization and land use changes, may not result in a long-term increase in the rate of tree growth. However, the results also suggest that forest fertilization, already a practice in Southern pine plantations, might become even more beneficial in a high carbon dioxide world." In a nutshell (or a pinecone): it doesn't seem that increasedw forest growth will "cancel" out increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

Comments

Mikey's comment

[Dancin_Santa]

In a nutshell (or a pinecone): it doesn't seem that increasedw forest growth will "cancel" out increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

I don't think that's the point at all. An increase in the amount of foliage will definitely 'cancel out' increased carbon dioxide, but it doesn't seem that increased CO2 encourages foliage growth. Rather, the report suggests using other plant foods to encourage forest growth.

It's a little like expecting an increase in oxygen to result in healthier human beings. Those without other necessities like food and water won't see any increased benefit from better air.

Of course, feeding forests with chemical fertilizers can lead to its own set of problems.

It would probably make more sense to look to the real 'lungs of the earth', plankton and algae, and see if we can get those guys to work. They are much easier to cultivate than trees.

Dancin Santa