Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Research Briefing
  • Published:

Mature oak forests retain the capacity of young forests to respond to elevated CO2

A free-air CO2 enrichment experiment exposed a 180-year-old oak forest in central England to elevated atmospheric CO2 concentrations for 7 years. Increases in wood production and net primary productivity were observed in response to this CO2 enrichment, contrary to expectations that such responses are limited to young tree plantations.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Fig. 1: Response of Quercus robur trees to elevated CO2.

References

  1. Walker, A. P. et al. Integrating the evidence for a terrestrial carbon sink caused by increasing atmospheric CO2. New Phytol. 229, 2413–2445 (2021). This article assesses terrestrial ecosystem responses to elevated CO2 using multiple lines of evidence.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Norby, R. J., Warren, J. M., Iversen, C. M., Medlyn, B. E. & McMurtrie, R. E. CO2 enhancement of forest productivity constrained by limited nitrogen availability. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 107, 19368–19373 (2010). This paper describes the protocols and results of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory FACE experiment.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Norby, R. J. et al. Model-data synthesis for the next generation of forest free-air CO2 enrichment (FACE) experiments. New Phytol. 209, 17–28 (2016). This article proposes research questions for EucFACE, AmazonFACE and BIFoR FACE.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Gardner, A., Ellsworth, D. S., Crous, K. Y., Pritchard, J. & MacKenzie, A. R. Is photosynthetic enhancement sustained through three years of elevated CO2 exposure in 175-year-old Quercus robur? Tree Physiol. 42, 130–144 (2022). This article documents increased photosynthetic uptake of CO2 in elevated CO2 at BIFoR FACE.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Jiang, M. et al. The fate of carbon in a mature forest under carbon dioxide enrichment. Nature 580, 227–231 (2020). This paper from EucFACE reports tree growth and carbon cycling in a phosphorus-limited forest.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Additional information

Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

This is a summary of: Norby, R. J. et al. Enhanced woody biomass production in a mature temperate forest under elevated CO2. Nat. Clim. Change https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-024-02090-3 (2024).

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Mature oak forests retain the capacity of young forests to respond to elevated CO2. Nat. Clim. Chang. 14, 907–908 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-024-02100-4

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-024-02100-4

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing Microbiology

Sign up for the Nature Briefing: Microbiology newsletter — what matters in microbiology research, free to your inbox weekly.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing: Microbiology