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The role of terrestrial plants in limiting atmospheric CO2 decline over the past 24 million years

Author

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  • Mark Pagani

    (Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06520, USA)

  • Ken Caldeira

    (Carnegie Institution of Washington, Stanford, California 94305, USA)

  • Robert Berner

    (Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06520, USA)

  • David J. Beerling

    (University of Sheffield)

Abstract

A limit on CO2 drawdown Despite the occurrence of high rates of global silicate rock weathering likely to increase the drawdown of atmospheric CO2 — and hence temperatures — CO2 concentrations are thought to have stayed above about 180 parts per million throughout the past 24 million years (compared to about 385 p.p.m. today, and a 'pre-industrial' 280 p.p.m.). Based on terrestrial and geochemical carbon-cycle modelling simulations, Pagani et al. suggest that it may have been the actions of land plants that strongly attenuated long-term CO2 variability and helped prevent the onset of icehouse conditions. As CO2 falls to critically low levels due to increased chemical weathering, they find that vegetation activity is substantially reduced, compromising the capacity to further enhance silicate chemical weathering.

Suggested Citation

  • Mark Pagani & Ken Caldeira & Robert Berner & David J. Beerling, 2009. "The role of terrestrial plants in limiting atmospheric CO2 decline over the past 24 million years," Nature, Nature, vol. 460(7251), pages 85-88, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:460:y:2009:i:7251:d:10.1038_nature08133
    DOI: 10.1038/nature08133
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    Cited by:

    1. Fei Zhang & Mathieu Dellinger & Robert G. Hilton & Jimin Yu & Mark B. Allen & Alexander L. Densmore & Hui Sun & Zhangdong Jin, 2022. "Hydrological control of river and seawater lithium isotopes," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-10, December.
    2. Liang, Juan & Liu, Chen & Sun, Gui-Quan & Li, Li & Zhang, Lai & Hou, Meiting & Wang, Hao & Wang, Zhen, 2022. "Nonlocal interactions between vegetation induce spatial patterning," Applied Mathematics and Computation, Elsevier, vol. 428(C).

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