Do trees grow more with more Co2?

Question

okay so there's a lot of carbon dioxide in the air, and plants use it in order to photosynthesize so does that mean that if there's alot of c02, that plants will grow faster/better?

Answer 1

It's complicated.

Some plants do better in high CO2 than others.  Add to that changing temperature and precipitation patterns, and things are going to change a lot.  Some plants will expand their range, others will do poorly.

Unfortunately, our very intensive agriculture system does not handle change well.  In terms of food production, there will be problems.

Answer 2

Yes. All plants, including trees that have been tested do grow better in an atmosphere that has a higher concentration of CO2. Plants use CO2 from the air to make the sugars and cellulose and oils that the plant needs to grow and reproduce.

There are two photosynthetic systems in plants, these are known as C3 and C4. The C4 system is more efficient than the C3 system. The C3 system benefits most from an increase in the CO2 level. Up 33% increases in biomass and crop yield have been reported for C3 plants grown in atmospheres of elevated CO2. However there is a point where the plant reaches saturation and no further increase is observed. It is highly unlikely that we would reach saturation levels in our atmosphere. Levels of CO2 that saturate the plant system are only attainable in the laboratory.

All trees are C3 plants. All trees will benefit from elevated CO2 levels. With C4 plants the effect is less pronounced, but even C4 plants were observed to have a slight elevation in biomass production with elevated CO2.  Most agricultural plants are C3 plants so crop yields will benefit from elevated atmospheric levels of CO2.

There is one big catch to this, however. Other pollutants that are produced by the burning of fossil fuels decrease plant production.  Examples are sulfur dioxide and oxides of notrogen.  To achieve the benefit of increased CO2 levels we must decrease or eliminate the other pollutants that are released with the CO2 when fossil fuels are burned.

  

Congratulations! That is a very good question!

Answer 3

I would assume that it would be the same as humans breathing. We don't become healthier just because we start breathing more oxygen.

Answer 4

I'm guessing yes.

plants take in c02 and put out oxygen as a bi-product

so more co2 wouldnt cause a whole lot of change but it's good if plants have it.

Answer 5

no they won't

it is just like if you can eat all the food you want, would you grow any faster?

plants and trees are never starved of any co2, so there is no need to produce any extra ones for them, the majority of component of air is co2

Answer 6

Perhaps surprisingly, experiments suggest that the answer is No.

Answer 7

Yes they do if its proportionate with adequate water and UV light. In fact in some deserted parts of the world they actually usually use a technique called CO2 fertilization so that plants will grow consuming less water. It's widely used in Israel. It is done by adding yeast or carbonate minerals in the soil.

Answer 8

This appears to be an open question. I do know that comercial nurseries sometimes release bottled CO2 in side greenhouses to speed plant growth but also recent studies indicate higher CO2 may r****d growth. I suspect it depends a lot on both the type of plant and also the other climate conditions the plant lives in.