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Climate
experts have long assumed that plants could help reduce global
warming by soaking up excess carbon dioxide gas emitted from cars
and smokestacks. But an unprecedented three-year experiment at
Stanford's Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve has raised questions
about that assumption. The results of the experiment, published in
Science magazine, show that atmospheric carbon dioxide actually
suppresses plant growth when combined with higher temperatures and
other likely consequences of global climate change. Two authors of
the study -- Chris Field (professor, by courtesy, of biological
sciences) and Becky Shaw (Nature Conservancy research scientist) --
discuss the Jasper Ridge experiment and its significance to the
climate change debate. |
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Stanford Report, December 11, 2002
