Published in ERW, 16 Aug 2013
The carbon fertilization effect will cause changes in crop yields at least half as large as those due to alterations in climate, a US-based simulation has shown. Although the simulation is not comprehensive enough to provide definite estimates of the regions that will be most affected by the carbon fertilization effect, it does suggest that vegetation models ought to take the phenomenon into account on a regional level.
The carbon fertilization effect (CFE) is in principle simple: the larger amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere that has resulted from rising anthropogenic emissions should help the growth of plants, which use carbon dioxide during photosynthesis. The effect ought to increase crop yields – and that is some good news for farmers, amid the overwhelmingly gloomy forecasts for other aspects of climate change. […]
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