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 RETRACTED ARTICLE: A constraint on historic growth in global photosynthesis due to increasing CO2

Author

Listed:
  • T. F. Keenan

    (UC Berkeley
    Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory)

  • X. Luo

    (UC Berkeley
    Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
    National University of)

  • M. G. Kauwe

    (ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate Extremes
    University of New South Wales
    University of Bristol)

  • B. E. Medlyn

    (Western Sydney University)

  • I. C. Prentice

    (Imperial College London
    Macquarie University
    Tsinghua University, Haidian)

  • B. D. Stocker

    (ETH
    Snow and Landscape Research WSL)

  • N. G. Smith

    (Texas Tech University)

  • C. Terrer

    (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
    Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

  • H. Wang

    (Tsinghua University, Haidian)

  • Y. Zhang

    (UC Berkeley
    Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
    Peking University)

  • S. Zhou

    (UC Berkeley
    Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
    Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University
    Columbia University)

Abstract

The global terrestrial carbon sink is increasing1–3, offsetting roughly a third of anthropogenic CO2 released into the atmosphere each decade1, and thus serving to slow4 the growth of atmospheric CO2. It has been suggested that a CO2-induced long-term increase in global photosynthesis, a process known as CO2 fertilization, is responsible for a large proportion of the current terrestrial carbon sink4–7. The estimated magnitude of the historic increase in photosynthesis as result of increasing atmospheric CO2 concentrations, however, differs by an order of magnitude between long-term proxies and terrestrial biosphere models7–13. Here we quantify the historic effect of CO2 on global photosynthesis by identifying an emergent constraint14–16 that combines terrestrial biosphere models with global carbon budget estimates. Our analysis suggests that CO2 fertilization increased global annual photosynthesis by 11.85 ± 1.4%, or 13.98 ± 1.63 petagrams carbon (mean ± 95% confidence interval) between 1981 and 2020. Our results help resolve conflicting estimates of the historic sensitivity of global photosynthesis to CO2, and highlight the large impact anthropogenic emissions have had on ecosystems worldwide.

Suggested Citation

  • T. F. Keenan & X. Luo & M. G. Kauwe & B. E. Medlyn & I. C. Prentice & B. D. Stocker & N. G. Smith & C. Terrer & H. Wang & Y. Zhang & S. Zhou, 2021. " RETRACTED ARTICLE: A constraint on historic growth in global photosynthesis due to increasing CO2," Nature, Nature, vol. 600(7888), pages 253-258, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:600:y:2021:i:7888:d:10.1038_s41586-021-04096-9
    DOI: 10.1038/s41586-021-04096-9
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    Cited by:

    1. Wei Li & Menghang Zhang & Xinyi Sun & Chuanchao Sheng & Xiaowei Mu & Lei Wang & Ping He & Haoshen Zhou, 2024. "Boosting a practical Li-CO2 battery through dimerization reaction based on solid redox mediator," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-11, December.
    2. Kailiang Yu & Philippe Ciais & Sonia I. Seneviratne & Zhihua Liu & Han Y. H. Chen & Jonathan Barichivich & Craig D. Allen & Hui Yang & Yuanyuan Huang & Ashley P. Ballantyne, 2022. "Field-based tree mortality constraint reduces estimates of model-projected forest carbon sinks," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-9, December.
    3. Lucash, Melissa S. & Marshall, Adrienne M. & Weiss, Shelby A. & McNabb, John W. & Nicolsky, Dmitry J. & Flerchinger, Gerald N. & Link, Timothy E. & Vogel, Jason G. & Scheller, Robert M. & Abramoff, Ro, 2023. "Burning trees in frozen soil: Simulating fire, vegetation, soil, and hydrology in the boreal forests of Alaska," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 481(C).
    4. Paulo Eduardo Teodoro & Luciano de Souza Maria & Jéssica Marciella Almeida Rodrigues & Adriana de Avila e Silva & Maiara Cristina Metzdorf da Silva & Samara Santos de Souza & Fernando Saragosa Rossi &, 2022. "Wildfire Incidence throughout the Brazilian Pantanal Is Driven by Local Climate Rather Than Bovine Stocking Density," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-16, August.
    5. Wenmin Zhang & Guy Schurgers & Josep Peñuelas & Rasmus Fensholt & Hui Yang & Jing Tang & Xiaowei Tong & Philippe Ciais & Martin Brandt, 2023. "Recent decrease of the impact of tropical temperature on the carbon cycle linked to increased precipitation," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-9, December.

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