Rising temperatures reducing ability of plants to absorb carbon

[n2doc]

Alok Jha
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 19 August 2010 19.19 BST

Rising temperatures in the past decade have reduced the ability of the world's plants to soak up carbon from the atmosphere, scientists said today.

Large-scale droughts have wiped out plants that would have otherwise absorbed an amount of carbon equivalent to Britain's annual man-made greenhouse gas emissions.

Scientists measure the amount of atmospheric carbon dioxide absorbed by plants and turned into biomass as a quantity known as the net primary production. NPP increased from 1982 to 1999 as temperatures rose and there was more solar radiation.

But the period from 2000 to 2009 reverses that trend – surprising some scientists. Maosheng Zhao and Steven Running of the University of Montana estimate that there has been a global reduction in NPP of 0.55 gigatonnes (Gt). In comparison, the UK's contribution to annual worldwide carbon dioxide emissions was 0.56Gt in 2007, while global aviation industry made up around 0.88Gt (3%) of the world total of 29.3Gt that year, according to UN data.

more

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/aug/19/rising-temperatures-plants-carbon

And the news keeps on getting better and better... :sarcasm:

[dixiegrrrrl]

1. Headline a bit misleading

I know you have to post what is written in the article.

Head line implies temperatures are reducing *existing* plants ability to absorb carbon.
but 2nd paragraph states temps have destroyed plants that woulds/coulda absorbed carbon.

Perhaps same results in the end.

(Nit picking spasm over now.)