Stanford Report, December 6, 2002
Scientists describe the latest results from the Jasper Ridge Global Change Experiment at Stanford
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.
VIDEO: Delana Lindsey
