Changing CO2 Promises Surprising Changes in Plant Communities

摘要

Time Tunneling for Clues Wayne Polley and Philip Fay, ecologists at the ARS Grassland Soil and Water Research Laboratory in Temple, Texas, offer an unprecedented look into the past and future: "Time tunnels" are used to expose a mix of tall prairie grasses and other plants to a gradient of CO2 levels, from the Ice Age to 2050 A.D. They use the greenhouse-like plastic-covered tunnels instead of open-top outdoor chambers in which plants are exposed to just one level of CO2 per chamber. If the results are confirmed, they suggest that the benefit of CO2 for cool-season grasses may not hold in future warmer climates and that this important group of forage grasses may eventually decline. 20 Years of CO2 Effects on Plants Steve Prior, a plant physiologist at the ARS National Soil Dynamics Laboratory in Auburn, Alabama, has also found that elevated CO2 can enhance growth of crops, forages, and invasive weeds, but the extent of the benefit will vary among plant species.