Abstract
ATMOSPHERIC CO2 concentration was 160 to 200 μmol mol−1 during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM; about 18,000 years ago)1, rose to about 275 (μmol mol−1 10,000 years ago2,3, and has increased to about 350 μmol mol−1 since 1800 (ref. 4). Here we present data indicating that this increase in CO2 has enhanced biospheric carbon fixation and altered species abundances by increasing the water-use efficiency of biomass production of C3 plants, the bulk of the Earth's vegetation. We grew oats (Avena sativa), wild mustard (Brassica kaber) and wheat (Triticum aes-tivum cv. Seri M82 and Yaqui 54), all C3 annuals, and selected C4 grasses along daytime gradients of Glacial to present atmospheric CO2 concentrations in a 38-m-long chamber. We calculated parameters related to leaf photosynthesis and water-use efficiency from stable carbon isotope ratios (13C/12C) of whole leaves. Leaf water-use efficiency and above-ground biomass/plant of C3 species increased linearly and nearly proportionally with increasing CO2 concentrations. Direct effects of increasing CO2 on plants must be considered when modelling the global carbon cycle and effects of climate change on vegetation.
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Policy, H., Johnson, H., Marinot, B. et al. Increase in C3 plant water-use efficiency and biomass over Glacial to present C02 concentrations. Nature 361, 61–64 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1038/361061a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/361061a0
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