Is the relationship between carbon dioxide emission and

 plant productivity the next Daisy World?

 by Lauren Doss

In the past few years, scientists have started studying the correlation between carbon dioxide and plant productivity.  To help explain how humans and our innovative world are desecrating the natural world of its resources, scientists are looking towards the effects of increasing carbon dioxide and plants’ response to it.  This is breaking science, which was started in the 21^st century.  The outcomes and adaptations needed are not fully understood, but this could be as traumatic and influential as the increased rainfall due to climate changes, which were man induced.

            There seems to be a high correlation between plants’ ability to absorb water and nutrients out of the soil and an increasing amount of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.  Scientists from the Met Office Hadley Centre, the University of Exeter, and the Centre of Ecology and Hydrology have studied plants in a closed environment, where they tested plant’s and how they respond to excessive amounts of carbon dioxide.  It seems that plants don’t absorb as much water from the soil when they take in an abundance of carbon dioxide.  This in effect means that water levels in low lying areas and rivers will rise, because plants and the soil can no longer take in as much water.  This cause and effect relationship must be considered for the future if we are to make wise decisions regarding climate change. 

            This water level rise will not be tsunamis of water all at once, but as the carbon dioxide increases by 43 percent before the year 2050, which is predicted to occur, gradual but steady water levels will rise around the world.  Scientists and theorists have believed for a while that plants will help offset the abundance of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, but after these studies they are slowly starting to see that they soon will not be able to depend on plants to do this.  They won’t be able to compensate for all of the carbon dioxide given off by humans and the things they need.

            There is a high correlation between increasing carbon dioxide and plants being deprived of nutrients they need, such as Nitrogen.  Overtime, the soil around the world will not be able to sustain the plant life that we have today.  An increased amount in carbon dioxide makes the plants use up more nutrients from the soil, which the soil will not be able to support in the future.  A six-year study took place, which is the longest and most in depth of its kind, helps explain the relationship between plant productivity and carbon dioxide emission.  Scientists in the experiment used different plants from 16 different grasslands.  The plants were exposed to an excess amount of carbon dioxide and an increased amount of Nitrogen.  The point of the study was to show plants’ inability to grow and flourish in Nitrogen depleted-soil.  They tested this, because they feel that in the future the soil will be drained of its nutrients due to plants’ increasing need for them.

            This topic feeds off the first, because as I stated earlier the water levels will rise due to the plants’ inability to absorb as much water as normal.  According to this study and these results a smaller amount of plant life will be able to be supported by the soil, which means that even less water will be absorbed.  This is interesting, because of the similarity in the Daisy World theory.  In the Daisy World theory, black and white daisies are present on a planet.  The black daisies live in the colder parts of the planet since they can absorb more sunlight, and the white daisies live in a warmer climate since they are more susceptible for life in this region.  The planet undergoes a chain of events that cause the number of black and white daisies to increase and decrease, for example the planet will start to cool down due to the albedo that the white daisies give off.  This will cause the number of the white daisies to diminish since they won’t be able to survive in the environment they are providing for themselves, but the black flowers will flourish, because they can absorb heat.  This will cause an increase in the black daisies and ultimately cause the world to warm.  The world will warm, the black flowers will begin to get too hot to sustain life, and the white flowers will begin to flourish.  This cycle will continue to repeat until one day when the planet can’t support the plants at all.  This example is relevant to the carbon dioxide and plant productivity study, because the plants are creating a world for themselves that won’t sustain them.  They are sucking up more and more nutrients out of the soil, which ultimately will hurt them. 

             Finally, plants that absorb excess amounts of carbon dioxide grow larger.  They grow larger due to their increase absorption of everything in the soil for nutrients.  They plants are starving for more and more nutrients to compensate for the increased amounts of carbon dioxide.  This is a problem, because obviously larger plants call for more nutrients.  Nutrients that we already determined can’t be sustained in the soil.    At Maricopa Agricultural Center, a team performed an experiment in support of this theory with wheat.  They grew wheat with the current amounts of carbon dioxide and then grew wheat with the levels of carbon dioxide that are expected to be present in the year 2050.  This directly affects us, because farmers will have to study and understand more about plant life and will have to fertilize the larger plants more often creating a demand for more money from the farmers, which are already struggling to support the farm life they have now.  This also is relevant to the first topic, because larger plants will use and require more nutrients from the soil, which will make it even harder for the plants to survive, and water absorption will decrease even more. 

            Plants will not be able to adapt to the high levels of carbon dioxide in the future.  As humans use of fossil fuels increases, plant life around the world will encounter a dramatic change.  Also, as Awasthi, Singh, and Sitaula show in their experiment not only will water levels increase in low lying areas, but nutrients and water will be present less in high lying areas.  These scientists show that nutrients are more present at the bottom of a slope more so than at the top, hinting at watersheds.  The nutrients that will be needed by these plants because of increased carbon dioxide will be, as they are today, sliding and tapering of downhill. 

            Carbon dioxide emission has a direct relationship with plant productivity.  Higher levels of carbon dioxide means that plants will grow larger, they will need more nutrients out of the soil, and they will drain the nutrients they need out of the soil ultimately causing water levels to rise.  Plant life will encounter a big change within the next 50 years or so, and nothing has really been determined about what can be done about it.  It is expected though that the plants won’t be able to compensate for this extra carbon dioxide as previously expected by scientists.

K. D. Awasthi, B. R. Singh, and Situala B.K.  “Profile carbon and nutrient levels and

management effect on soil quality indicators in the Mardi watershed of Nepal.” Acta Agriculturae Scandinavica: Section B, Soil and Plant Science.  1 March 1998. <http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=5&hid=107&sid=eee3f8fb-6828-4b77-81df-5680a35cf82e%40sessionmgr107>

University of Exeter. "Higher River Levels Predicted As More Carbon

Dioxide Makes Plants Less Thirsty." ScienceDaily 11 September 2007. 3 December 2007 <http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2007/09/070905083617.htm>.

National Science Foundation. "Higher Carbon Dioxide, Lack Of Nitrogen

Limit Plant Growth." ScienceDaily 13 April 2006. 3 December 2007 <http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2006/04/060412204831.htm>.

USDA/Agricultural Research Service. "How Will Rising CO2 Affect