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Rows of soybean plants with green leaves beneath a partially clouded sky with the rising sun in the background.
As Carbon Dioxide Goes Up, Plants’ Nutrient Content Declines
Abundant environmental CO2 can increase plant biomass and photosynthesis, but it has downsides for agriculture and ecosystems, a growing body of research finds.
As Carbon Dioxide Goes Up, Plants’ Nutrient Content Declines
As Carbon Dioxide Goes Up, Plants’ Nutrient Content Declines

Abundant environmental CO2 can increase plant biomass and photosynthesis, but it has downsides for agriculture and ecosystems, a growing body of research finds.

Abundant environmental CO2 can increase plant biomass and photosynthesis, but it has downsides for agriculture and ecosystems, a growing body of research finds.

carbon dioxide

Tree with many scattered branches.
Scientists Resurrect Ancient Rubiscos to Understand Their Evolution
Alejandra Manjarrez, PhD | Oct 14, 2022 | 5 min read
A team proposes that the addition of a small accessory subunit to the carbon-fixing enzyme was key to improving its catalytic properties and specificity to CO2.
dense evergreen forest with mountains in distance
Climate Change Likely to Slow Plant Growth in Northern Hemisphere
Margaret Osborne | Jun 14, 2022 | 2 min read
While the higher temperatures and CO2 levels associated with climate change currently fuel plant productivity, a study finds that changing conditions could take a toll on photosynthesis rates in regions outside the Arctic within a decade.
A young arctic fox on green grass
Arctic Greening Won’t Save the Climate—Here’s Why
Donatella Zona, The Conversation | Mar 30, 2022 | 4 min read
The growing season on the tundra is starting earlier as the planet warms, but the plants aren’t sequestering more carbon, a new study finds.
Steam rises from a blue-gray hot spring, visible beyond a patch of reddish, rocky soil.
Soil Microbes Sacrifice Ribosomes in Response to Warming
Sophie Fessl, PhD | Mar 29, 2022 | 4 min read
When soil heats up, microbes scale back protein synthesis machinery by making use of higher reaction rates that occur at higher temperatures, a study finds.
microscope image of methaotrophs with black specks
Deep Sea Microbes Produce Graphite-like Carbon
Chloe Tenn | Nov 11, 2021 | 2 min read
The first evidence of biologically produced elemental carbon inspires more questions than answers.  
Cicada nymph on a tree, shedding its exoskeleton
Scientists Go Down the Cicada Hole
Lisa Winter | Jun 24, 2021 | 3 min read
Brood X’s emergence tunnels—numbering in the hundreds per square meter of soil—give researchers a special opportunity to study how such extreme soil aeration affects the ecosystem.
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New Models Improve Long-Term Grass Pollen Forecasts
Asher Jones | Mar 26, 2021 | 5 min read
More-accurate predictions of the severity of an upcoming grass pollen season based on rainfall and temperature could help allergy sufferers manage their symptoms.
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COVID-19 Lockdowns Will Have Negligible Effect on Climate Change
Amanda Heidt | Aug 7, 2020 | 3 min read
A new study finds reductions in greenhouse gases are insufficient to substantially slow warming, and the authors argue that to continue the benefits of reduced emissions, policymakers will need to adopt green economic recovery strategies.
Lab-Evolved E. coli Consume Carbon Dioxide
Emily Makowski | Nov 27, 2019 | 3 min read
Bacteria that take in inorganic carbon could have applications in sustainable biofuels.
Image of the Day: Changing Forests
Emily Makowski | Nov 27, 2019 | 1 min read
Carbon dioxide and temperature need to increase in a constant ratio for plants to keep up with climate change.
a winter cityscape with smokestacks
Atmospheric CO2 Levels Reached Another High in 2018
Shawna Williams | Nov 26, 2019 | 2 min read
The concentration of the greenhouse gas is now one-and-a-half times what it was before the Industrial Revolution, the World Meteorological Association says.
Image of the Day: Bubbling Plants
Emily Makowski | Nov 18, 2019 | 1 min read
Plants use two different strategies to photosynthesize underwater.
Warming Permafrost Morphs Microbes into Greenhouse Gas Emitters
Ashley Yeager | Nov 1, 2019 | 5 min read
Insulating tundra soil with snow increased the abundance of microbial species involved in carbon dioxide and methane release.
atmosphere atmospheric microbe microbes photosynthesis France cloud rain microbiology algae cyanobacteria
Clouds and Rain Carry a Menagerie of Photosynthetic Microbes
Chia-Yi Hou | Jun 24, 2019 | 2 min read
Microbiologists identify diatoms, algae, and cyanobacteria species from samples above a mountaintop in France.
Diverse Forests Are Better at Accumulating Carbon
Catherine Offord | Dec 1, 2018 | 2 min read
A higher species richness could boost plant communities’ ability to mitigate climate change, a study suggests.
a bank of computer processors
Study Fingers Bitcoin as Major Climate Change Culprit
Shawna Williams | Oct 29, 2018 | 2 min read
Researchers predict that activity around the digital currency could single-handedly push warming above 2 °C within 30 years, but other experts say the conclusion is flawed.
Sinking Carbon
Jim Daley | Jul 1, 2018 | 2 min read
With samples taken from the crust of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, researchers have discovered where some of the oceans’ dissolved organic carbon winds up.
Climate Change Will Force Hundreds of Marine Species to Move
Catherine Offord | May 16, 2018 | 2 min read
A study of 686 fish and invertebrates predicts that some animals will have to shift more than 1,000 kilometers to stay within tolerable temperatures.
Image of the Day: Coral on Acid
The Scientist Staff and The Scientist Staff | Mar 16, 2018 | 1 min read
Researchers exposed a coral reef to carbonated water to study the effects of ocean acidification.
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