In 2005, Morgan and teams of scientists from Colorado State University and the University of Wyoming set out to simulate climate change on tiny plots of grassland at the USDA High Plains Grassland Research Station near Cheyenne by testing how grasses and weeds in the area react to higher levels of carbon dioxide and greater heat.
The results, so far, point to some good news for cattle growers in a changing climate, he said.
Morgan’s team has found that increased carbon dioxide levels increase the efficiency of how plants use water, reducing the amount of water grasses and weeds allow to escape into the soil.
The teams’ simulations of the warming and higher carbon dioxide levels expected later this century show no change in soil water and an increase in plant growth for warm-season grasses.
Carbon dioxide, he said, “helps this grassland community conserve water in it so they don’t dry out as much as they would otherwise.”
More good news, he said: “We think in maybe the central and northern Great Plains, we don’t see anytime soon a big drought, a big decrease in production because of this offsetting effect of CO2 because it actually boosts water use efficiency.”
Disrupting the Borg is expensive and time consuming!
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How many more research groups need to study this before they realize what they are finding. How many more times will they report this type of study as being some new type of research.
Of course more research will be required to better understand what this really means.
Hey GG! I did my first CO2 soybean plant experiment in 1977 and the result was the same every time. The more CO2 I added the larger the plants grew and the less water they used. Of course my first run was very crude, but it still gave the same results we are seeing from sophisticated laboratory experiments today.
This video is fantastic. You get to see what this plant is supposed to look like when properly fed. Imagine what our forests would look like with with historically higher CO2 levels.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2qVNK6zFgE&feature=player_embedded
GG You stole my comment. How many times must we prove the benefits to plants?