{"id":8037,"date":"2024-10-21T20:53:45","date_gmt":"2024-10-21T20:53:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/?p=8037"},"modified":"2024-10-24T18:24:59","modified_gmt":"2024-10-24T18:24:59","slug":"surprising-study-reveals-plants-absorb-31-more-co2-than-previously-thought","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/surprising-study-reveals-plants-absorb-31-more-co2-than-previously-thought\/","title":{"rendered":"Surprising Study Reveals Plants Absorb 31% More CO2 Than Previously Thought"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-blockquote uagb-block-e7eb3fc3 uagb-blockquote__skin-border uagb-blockquote__stack-img-none\"><blockquote class=\"uagb-blockquote\"><div class=\"uagb-blockquote__content\">A new study unveils that plants absorb 31% more CO<sub>2<\/sub> than previously believed, revolutionizing understanding of Earth&#8217;s carbon cycle and climate predictions.<\/div><footer><div class=\"uagb-blockquote__author-wrap uagb-blockquote__author-at-left\"><\/div><\/footer><\/blockquote><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-content-justification-space-between is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-b0ffac9c wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\"><div style=\"font-size:16px\" class=\"has-text-align-left wp-block-post-author\"><div class=\"wp-block-post-author__content\"><p class=\"wp-block-post-author__name\">The University Network<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-social-share uagb-social-share__outer-wrap uagb-social-share__layout-horizontal uagb-block-ee584a31\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-social-share-child uagb-ss-repeater uagb-ss__wrapper uagb-block-ec619ce7\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__link\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"facebook\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-wrap\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-icon\"><svg xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 512 512\"><path d=\"M504 256C504 119 393 8 256 8S8 119 8 256c0 123.8 90.69 226.4 209.3 245V327.7h-63V256h63v-54.64c0-62.15 37-96.48 93.67-96.48 27.14 0 55.52 4.84 55.52 4.84v61h-31.28c-30.8 0-40.41 19.12-40.41 38.73V256h68.78l-11 71.69h-57.78V501C413.3 482.4 504 379.8 504 256z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-social-share-child uagb-ss-repeater uagb-ss__wrapper uagb-block-32d99934\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__link\" data-href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/share?url=\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"twitter\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-wrap\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-icon\"><svg xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 512 512\"><path d=\"M389.2 48h70.6L305.6 224.2 487 464H345L233.7 318.6 106.5 464H35.8L200.7 275.5 26.8 48H172.4L272.9 180.9 389.2 48zM364.4 421.8h39.1L151.1 88h-42L364.4 421.8z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-social-share-child uagb-ss-repeater uagb-ss__wrapper uagb-block-1d136f14\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__link\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/shareArticle?url=\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"linkedin\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-wrap\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-icon\"><svg xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 448 512\"><path d=\"M416 32H31.9C14.3 32 0 46.5 0 64.3v383.4C0 465.5 14.3 480 31.9 480H416c17.6 0 32-14.5 32-32.3V64.3c0-17.8-14.4-32.3-32-32.3zM135.4 416H69V202.2h66.5V416zm-33.2-243c-21.3 0-38.5-17.3-38.5-38.5S80.9 96 102.2 96c21.2 0 38.5 17.3 38.5 38.5 0 21.3-17.2 38.5-38.5 38.5zm282.1 243h-66.4V312c0-24.8-.5-56.7-34.5-56.7-34.6 0-39.9 27-39.9 54.9V416h-66.4V202.2h63.7v29.2h.9c8.9-16.8 30.6-34.5 62.9-34.5 67.2 0 79.7 44.3 79.7 101.9V416z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Scientists have found that plants around the world are absorbing significantly more carbon dioxide than previously estimated, with new data showing an uptake increase of around 31%. This discovery has substantial implications for predicting future climate scenarios and underscores the essential role that natural carbon sinks play in mitigating greenhouse gas emissions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41586-024-08050-3\" title=\"\">Published<\/a> in the journal Nature, the research re-evaluates global Terrestrial Gross Primary Production (GPP), the largest carbon exchange between land and the atmosphere. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Conducted by a team from Cornell University, supported by the Department of Energy\u2019s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), the study places GPP at 157 petagrams of carbon per year in contrast to the long-standing estimate of 120 petagrams. To put this in perspective, one petagram equals 1 billion metric tons, approximately the annual CO<sub>2<\/sub> emissions from 238 million gas-powered vehicles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The research team achieved this breakthrough by using a novel approach. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By tracking the movement of carbonyl sulfide (OCS), a compound that closely follows the same path as CO<sub>2<\/sub> through plant leaves, scientists could estimate photosynthetic activity more accurately. OCS is easier to measure than CO<sub>2<\/sub>, making it a reliable proxy for assessing photosynthesis on a global scale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lianhong Gu, a co-author of the study and distinguished staff scientist at ORNL, explained the significance of the new model.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cFiguring out how much CO<sub>2<\/sub> plants fix each year is a conundrum that scientists have been working on for a while&#8230; It\u2019s important that we get a good handle on global GPP since that initial land carbon uptake affects the rest of our representations of Earth\u2019s carbon cycle,\u201d Gu said in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ornl.gov\/news\/plant-co2-uptake-rises-nearly-one-third-new-global-estimates\" title=\"\">news release<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The recalculated GPP has crucial implications for better climate prediction models. Pan-tropical rainforests, in particular, showed a higher carbon absorption rate than previously recorded, suggesting these ecosystems are even more critical in sequestering carbon than once thought. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The findings stress the need to include vital processes like mesophyll conductance, the movement of OCS and CO<sub>2<\/sub> into plant chloroplasts, in climate modeling to enhance the accuracy of predictions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe have to make sure the fundamental processes in the carbon cycle are properly represented in our larger-scale models,\u201d Gu added. \u201cFor those Earth-scale simulations to work well, they need to represent the best understanding of the processes at work. This work represents a major step forward in terms of providing a definitive number.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The discovery promises to inform the development of more precise models that incorporate key mechanisms such as mesophyll diffusion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;Nailing down our estimates of GPP with reliable global-scale observations is a critical step in improving our predictions of future CO<sub>2<\/sub> in the atmosphere, and the consequences for global climate,&#8221; Peter Thornton, corporate fellow and leader of Earth Systems Science at ORNL, said in the news release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In addition to Cornell University and ORNL, collaborators included researchers from Wageningen University, the Carnegie Institution for Science, Colorado State University, the University of California Santa Cruz and NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The revised estimates of plant CO<sub>2<\/sub> uptake highlight not only the complexity of the Earth&#8217;s carbon cycle but also the pivotal role of natural ecosystems in regulating the planet&#8217;s climate. As scientists continue to refine their models, these findings will be instrumental in addressing some of the most pressing environmental challenges facing our world today.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Scientists have found that plants around the world are absorbing significantly more carbon dioxide than previously estimated, with new data showing an uptake increase of around 31%. This discovery has substantial implications for predicting future climate scenarios and underscores the essential role that natural carbon sinks play in mitigating greenhouse gas emissions. Published in the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"single-no-separators","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8037","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-climate-and-environment"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":false,"thumbnail":false,"medium":false,"medium_large":false,"large":false,"1536x1536":false,"2048x2048":false},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"The University Network","author_link":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/author\/funky_junkie\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Scientists have found that plants around the world are absorbing significantly more carbon dioxide than previously estimated, with new data showing an uptake increase of around 31%. This discovery has substantial implications for predicting future climate scenarios and underscores the essential role that natural carbon sinks play in mitigating greenhouse gas emissions. Published in the&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8037","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8037"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8037\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8402,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8037\/revisions\/8402"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8037"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8037"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8037"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}