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Biogeochemistry

Carbon dioxide and water use in forests

Nature volume 499, pages 287–289 (2013)Cite this article

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Plants are expected to respond to rising levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide by using water more efficiently. Direct evidence of this has been obtained from forests, but the size of the effect will prompt debate. See Letter p.324

In a study published on page 324 of this issue, Keenan et al.1 report that the efficiency with which forests use water has increased over the past 20 years, and conclude that this is a consequence of rises in the concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide.Footnote 1 The findings call for a reassessment of models of the terrestrial carbon cycle.

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Figure 1: Vapour flux.

HARRY SPURLING/CORBIS

Notes

  1. *This article and the paper under discussion1 were published online on 10 July 2013.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Belinda Medlyn and Martin De Kauwe are in the Department of Biological Science, Macquarie University, North Ryde, New South Wales 2109, Australia.,

    Belinda Medlyn & Martin De Kauwe

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  1. Belinda Medlyn
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  2. Martin De Kauwe
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Correspondence to Belinda Medlyn or Martin De Kauwe.

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Medlyn, B., De Kauwe, M. Carbon dioxide and water use in forests. Nature 499, 287–289 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature12411

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