Atmospheres that are enriched with carbon dioxide can boost plant productivity in some ecosystems, but drought may prevent faster or greater growth in desert plants, such as those of the Mojave Desert (pictured) in the southwestern United States.
Researchers led by Beth Newingham then at the University of Nevada in Las Vegas measured productivity above and below ground for plants that were exposed to high levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide at experimental sites in the Mojave Desert for a decade.
They found that dominant shrub and grass species that were exposed to higher levels of carbon dioxide showed some gains in weight and photosynthesis in wet years compared with plants at control sites that were exposed to ambient carbon dioxide, but that these gains were not sustained during drought.
Desert ecosystems, which cover around one-third of Earth's land surface, may be more limited by water than by carbon, the authors suggest.
Glob. Change Biol. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/gcb.12177 (2013)
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Desert plants reap no rewards. Nature 496, 272 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/496272a
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/496272a
