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ECOSYSTEM ECOLOGY

Global vegetation’s CO2 uptake

Nature Ecology & Evolution volume 2, pages 1840–1841 (2018)Cite this article

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Multiple lines of evidence reveal that annual maximum photosynthesis across the world has been increasing over the past 30 years, adding crucial new information on the processes influencing the land carbon sink and on vegetation’s key role in mitigating climate change.

Previous work has suggested that the positive effect of increasing CO2 concentrations on annual photosynthesis and plant growth is the primary reason for the increased carbon sequestration on land in recent decades2,3. Increases in the annual CO2 uptake by vegetation can follow from three mechanisms: lengthening of the growing season, which allows a longer photosynthetic period; a faster increase towards peak photosynthesis, increasing uptake rates early in the season; an increase in the maximum photosynthetic rate reached; or a combination of these factors (Fig. 1b). While lengthening of the growing season has been observed repeatedly4,5, changes in the peak of vegetation growth has received less attention, until now. By analysing satellite-derived vegetation indices and global photosynthesis estimates from ground-based measurements, as well as satellite and meteorological observations7, Huang et al.6 demonstrate that both the annual maximum greenness of vegetation and the annual maximum photosynthesis rates increased linearly over the last three decades. They attribute these increases to roughly equal contributions from increasing atmospheric CO2 concentrations, increasing nitrogen deposition and expansion of croplands.

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Fig. 1: Changes in photosynthesis can alter the land carbon sink.

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  1. Centre of Excellence PLECO (Plants and Ecosystems), Biology Department, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk, Belgium

    Sara Vicca

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  1. Sara Vicca
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Correspondence to Sara Vicca.

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The author declares no competing interests.

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Vicca, S. Global vegetation’s CO2 uptake. Nat Ecol Evol 2, 1840–1841 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-018-0730-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-018-0730-0

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