Earth Getting Greener Due to Carbon Dioxide Increases

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H. Sterling Burnett

Managing Editor, Environment & Climate News at The Heartland Institute

H. Sterling Burnett, Ph.D. is managing editor of Environment & Climate News and a research fellow for environment and energy policy at The Heartland Institute. Burnett worked at the National Center for Policy Analysis for 18 years, most recently as a senior fellow in charge of NCPA’s environmental policy program. He has held various positions in professional and public policy organizations, including serving as a member of the Environment and Natural Resources Task Force in the Texas Comptroller’s e-Texas commission.

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Tree on the Savanna

A new study in the journal Scientific Reports shows enhanced levels of carbon dioxide are driving global dryland greening in recent decades. Drylands – zones where mean annual precipitation is less than two-thirds of potential evaporation – make up the largest part of the global terrestrial ecosystem. After analyzing data from 45 studies covering eight countries, researchers from Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis concluded the most likely source of the greening of dryland areas around the world is rising levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide. Regional scale analyses using global satellites show extensive areas of drylands greening in northern China, the Mediterranean, the Middle East, Mongolia, the Sahel and South America.

The authors ruled out other potential drivers for the greening, concluding only increased carbon dioxide levels provided a global explanation for changes to dryland vegetation. Under increased carbon dioxide levels, plants use water more efficiently, reducing the amount of moisture lost during respiration and storing more water in the soil. The study found elevated carbon dioxide enhanced soil water levels in drylands by 17 percent.