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Topic 24 - Atmospheric changes impact plant performance and evolution
Essential elements from Topic 24:
In this lecture, we discuss the effects of changing atmospheric carbon dioxide on photosynthesis and net primary productivity of plants over the last one million years as carbon dioxide levels have varied from 180 ppm to today's 400 ppm and the expected 500-600 ppm later in this century. We will explore
Topic 24 - Atmospheric changes impact plant performance and evolution
Essential elements from Topic 24:
In this lecture, we discuss the effects of changing atmospheric carbon dioxide on photosynthesis and net primary productivity of plants over the last one million years as carbon dioxide levels have varied from 180 ppm to today's 400 ppm and the expected 500-600 ppm later in this century. We will explore
- How scientists have designed long-term experiments to study photosynthesis and net primary productivity under these quite different atmospheric carbon dioxide levels.
- What happens when plants are grown at the future high carbon dioxide levels? Can important factors beyond influence and constrain photosynthesis and net primary productivity?
- What happens when plants are grown for several generations under low atmospheric carbon dioxide?
- Are there differences in the sensitivities of C3 versus C4 photosynthesis to either sub-ambient carbon dioxide levels or to those higher carbon dioxide levels expected in the future?
- Do the decreases and/or increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide levels from present conditions affect food quality and therefore have impacts on the insect and mammalian herbivores eating plants?