An international group of scientists led by the specialists of the National Laboratory of Lawrence and the University of California in Berkeley (USA) found out that the plants can slow down global warming, but not completely stop it. This is reported in an article published in the Nature magazine.
Researchers recorded that in the period from 1982 to 2020, photosenthesis of plants increased by 12 percent. Over the same period, the global concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has grown about 17 percent, with 360 parts per million (PPM) to 420 ppm. An increase in the intensity of photosynthesis corresponds to an additional 14 carbon petagramms derived from the atmosphere every year. This is approximately equal to the amount of carbon allocated throughout the world when burning fossil fuels only in 2020.
Most of the carbon captured by plants later returns back to the atmosphere through breathing. As a result, plants through photosynthesis and soil absorption take about a third of carbon dioxide emissions emitted into the atmosphere every decade as a result of burning fossil fuel.
Thus, a decisive role in preventing catastrophic climate change is played by efforts to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, which remains in the atmosphere for decades longer than other greenhouse gases.