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Article 56 – ‘Flora and carbon’ 2.
Hi welcome to Taiga Bonzai, in this article we discuss the need for carbon in all forms of horticulture, which allows for healthy growth and food production.
Global warming is the result of the carbon cycle being out of sync due to the burning of coal, oil, and natural gas in large quantities. The result is vast amounts of gas released from the ancient carbon stored in the ground for millennia. A practice that mankind is totally responsible for.
Introduction - what is Carbon? According to science reporter Hayley Dunning from Imperial and Bruntwood SciTech "All living things are carbon-based, carbon atoms bond with other atoms to form chains such as proteins, fats, and carbohydrates. These in turn, provides other living things with nourishment, this is known as the carbon cycle."
Plants use carbon dioxide during photosynthesis, a process where the plant converts energy from the sun into a chemical carbohydrate molecule. Plants use this carbon chemical to grow. Once the plant’s life cycle is over and it decomposes, carbon dioxide is formed again to return to the atmosphere where it begins the cycle again.
Plant Growth – this carbon dioxide is converted to energy for growth. The role of carbon in plants is to create healthier and more productive growth of the plants. Adding organic matter to the soil fertilizes the plants giving extra nourishment, hence carbon and plant growth are then intrinsically linked.
Some of this source of carbon is converted into carbon dioxide and released into the atmosphere however, some of this carbon is locked into the soil. This stored carbon helps to combat global warming by binding minerals or remaining in organic forms, that slowly break down over time; aiding in the reduction of atmospheric carbon.
Amending soil with organic carbon not only facilitates healthier plant life, but it also drains well, prevents water pollution. It is beneficial to useful microbes and insects and eliminates the need for using synthetic fertilizers which are derived from fossil fuels.
Dunning points out that “Our dependency upon those very fossil fuels is what got us into this mess in the first place and utilizing organic gardening techniques is one way to combat the global warming debacle.” Whether carbon dioxide from the air or organic carbon in the soil, the role of carbon and plant growth is extremely valuable. Without this process, life as we know it would not exist.
Under warmer conditions, plants can take up more carbon dioxide by using carbon more efficiently for growth. Plants take in or ‘fix’ carbon dioxide from the atmosphere during photosynthesis. Some of the carbon is used for plant growth and some of it is used in respiration, where the plant breaks down sugars to get energy. Plants may be more capable of compensating the negative effects of warming on carbon fixation than previously thought.
The balance between the release of carbon dioxide (CO2) during respiration and fixation of carbon during photosynthesis affects the growth of the plant. Across the globe, this balance also affects the global carbon balance for example, how much is stored in living things compared to free in the atmosphere. In addition, the faster the rate of photosynthesis relative to respiration and the greater the rate at which atmospheric carbon is ‘sucked in’ by ecosystems.
As CO2 rises in the atmosphere from human input, it leads to the planet warming, the balance between photosynthesis and respiration can shift in individual plants.
In a new study published this week (November 2024) in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers have found that in warmer conditions plants change how they use carbon – using more for growth. By using more CO2 for growth, plants are ‘fixing’ more CO2 from the atmosphere as they lock it up in their leaves and stems.
Previously, scientists had measured the simple ratio between photosynthesis and respiration rate at a given temperature to estimate plant responses. However, the team have discovered a third fundamental factor that determines the ratio, called the ‘carbon allocation efficiency’.
The new study, led by researchers from Imperial College London and the University of Exeter, should allow scientists to more accurately predict the response of plants to climate change using carbon allocation efficiency.
This factor determines what happens after the CO2 is taken in during photosynthesis – whether it is used for growth or respiration. The team found that as temperatures rise, plants can allocate more carbon for growth, effectively improving their net carbon gain.
To find this out, they used a combination of mathematical modelling and data from laboratory experiments with algae. They also looked across diverse plant species, both on land and in water and concluded that a warming-induced increase in carbon allocation efficiency is a general phenomenon.
Study co-author Dr Samraat Pawar, from the Department of Life Sciences at Imperial, said: “Plants may be more capable of compensating the negative effects of warming on carbon fixation than previously thought, across both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Our study provides a new way to better predict the effect of warming on carbon fixation by individual plants, and ultimately whole ecosystems.”
Other scientists played their part in the study of carbon in the journal ‘Role of carbon allocation efficiency in the temperature dependence of autotroph growth rates’ by Bernardo Garcia-Carreras, Sofia Sala, Daniel Padfield, Dimitrios-Georgios Kontopoulos, Elvire Bestion, C.-Elisa Schaumb, Gabriel Yvon-Durocher, and Samrat Pawar is published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Other comments – (Monday, 26 June 2023) according to Tony Gadsdon “I always thought plants grow much better with carbon and actually rely on it. Humans are trying hard to reduce it and think we are going to destroy our planet if we don’t. The study shows that nature itself can adapt to having more carbon and actually store it for growth. Whilst I am not for polluting our planet I question the quest for zero carbon which is destroying Britain and many other nations”.
Mr Gadsdon has hit the nail on the head with his statement and we are in total agreement with it. The problem in reality does not stem from the average man/women in the main as they are aware of the consequences of destruction. The problem is that of the so-called politicians whom make decisions without doing any research, probably because they are unable to do so as remarks were made in the articles ‘unseen invasion’ 53 and 55′ as to their stupidity.
Instead they get their minions to write a paper with bogus facts and figures which, paint a picture of gloom. When they should be talking to the scientists, the ones who really know what is going on. Europe including the UK is in decline with little hope of returning to what it once was, a heavy price to pay due to their incompetence behaviour.
Is there a chance they can apply the brakes and reverse course, from what we have witnessed it seems highly unlikely, they and the general public are now in a ‘ Thelma & Louise’ situation, until next time, BW, Nik.
