As Climate Warms, Plants Will Absorb Less CO2, Study Finds
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https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/23/climate/plants-co2-climate-change.html
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Today, plants and soil around the world absorb roughly a quarter of the greenhouse gases that humans release into the atmosphere, helping the Earth avoid some of the worst effects of climate change. In an ideal situation, as levels of carbon dioxide increased, plants would soak up more of these emissions, helping to fuel their growth.
But in a study published Wednesday in the journal Nature, researchers found that under a warming climate, rather than absorbing more greenhouse gas emissions, plants and soil may start absorbing less, accelerating the rate of change.
“Basically, carbon uptake is not a zero-sum game,” Dr. Gentine said. Even when a drought year is followed by a year as wet as the previous one was dry, it is not enough to compensate for the dry year, the researchers found.