Excerpt
CO2 concentration of the atmosphere is increasing, and climate modelers have predicted a consequent global warming and changes in precipitation patterns. The report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change edited by Houghton et al. (8) projects CO2 increasing from present day concentrations of about 350 μL/L (1 μL/L = 1 microliter CO2 per liter of air = 1 ppmv = 1 part per million by volume = 1 μmol/mol) to more than 800μL/L by the end of the next century if no steps are taken to limit emissions. They predict this increase in CO2 plus that of other radiatively active “greenhouse” gases—methane, nitrous oxide, chlorofluorocarbons (CFC's), ozone—would cause an increase in global mean temperature of about 4.2°C. (40°F). Some regions probably will receive increases in precipitation, whereas others will receive less. This increase in CO2 and possible concomitant climate change could affect the ecology of most living things, including production agriculture. However, the increasing CO2 concentration also will directly affect growth of all plants whether the climate changes or not. …
Footnotes
B. A. Kimball is a research leader, F. S. Nakayama is a research chemist, and S. B. Idso is a research physicist with the Environmental and Plant Dynamics Research Unit, U.S. Water Conservation Laboratory, Phoenix, AZ.J.R. Mauney is a plant physiologist, Cotton Physiology Research Unit, Western Cotton Research Laboratory, USDA ARS, Phoenix, AZ. This work supported in part by grant DE-AI01-81ER60001, from the U.S. Dept. of Energy, Carbon Dioxide Research Division.
- Copyright 1993 by the Soil and Water Conservation Society
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