Scientists Totally Missed This! Plants Absorb Way More Than You’d Ever Imagine!

A groundbreaking new study has revealed that plants are absorbing significantly more carbon dioxide (CO2) than previously thought. The research, which was published in the journal *Nature*, shows that plants globally absorb about 31% more CO2 than estimated before. This discovery is crucial for improving the models used to predict climate trends and highlights the key role of plants, especially tropical rainforests, in helping to slow down the rise of greenhouse gases.

Plants’ Vital Role in the Carbon Cycle

Plants play a major role in Earth’s carbon cycle by absorbing CO2 during photosynthesis. The amount of CO2 taken up by land plants is known as Terrestrial Gross Primary Production (GPP). GPP is the largest exchange of carbon between the land and the atmosphere, making it a critical factor in the fight against climate change. Scientists now estimate that global GPP is 157 petagrams of carbon per year—up from the previous estimate of 120 petagrams, which had been widely accepted for the past 40 years. For perspective, one petagram equals 1 billion metric tons of carbon, which is roughly the same amount produced by 238 million gasoline-powered vehicles annually.

A New Method for Measuring Photosynthesis

Researchers used a novel approach to update their estimates of global GPP. Led by Cornell University, and supported by Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), the scientists used a chemical compound called carbonyl sulfide (OCS) as a proxy for photosynthesis. OCS moves through plant leaves in a similar way to CO2, but is easier to measure. By tracking OCS, researchers could gain a clearer picture of how much CO2 plants were absorbing.

According to Lianhong Gu, a co-author and photosynthesis expert at ORNL, “Figuring out how much CO2 plants fix each year is a conundrum that scientists have been working on for a while.”

This method offered a new way to measure photosynthesis at a global scale, and the results were surprising: tropical rainforests were absorbing much more carbon than previously estimated. This finding underscores the importance of rainforests in balancing Earth’s carbon budget.

The Importance of Mesophyll Conductance

One of the key advancements in this study was the more accurate representation of mesophyll conductance. This is the process by which CO2 and OCS move from the air into plant cells where photosynthesis occurs. Understanding mesophyll diffusion is crucial to accurately measure how well plants absorb CO2. According to Gu, “It’s important that we get a good handle on global GPP since that initial land carbon uptake affects the rest of our representations of Earth’s carbon cycle.”

The Impact of Tropical Rainforests

The research found that tropical rainforests contributed the most to the difference between old and new estimates of carbon absorption. Ground measurements confirmed that rainforests absorb more carbon than previously thought, making them one of the most important natural carbon sinks on the planet. This is significant because the ability of forests to store carbon has a direct impact on climate predictions.

Peter Thornton, Corporate Fellow at ORNL, emphasized the importance of this finding, stating, “Nailing down our estimates of GPP with reliable global-scale observations is a critical step in improving our predictions of future CO2 in the atmosphere, and the consequences for global climate.”

What This Means for Climate Predictions

This study provides a more accurate understanding of how much carbon is absorbed by land ecosystems, which is crucial for predicting how much CO2 will remain in the atmosphere in the future. With the new data, scientists can improve their climate models, making them more reliable. The discovery also underscores the importance of protecting tropical rainforests, which play a vital role in absorbing excess CO2 from the atmosphere.

The findings are expected to inform future research and improve predictions about how the carbon cycle will respond to changing climate conditions. DOE’s Next Generation Ecosystem Experiments in the Tropics program is working toward better understanding how tropical forests will behave in the future, and this study is a major step forward in that direction.

In summary, plants, especially in tropical rainforests, are absorbing much more CO2 than previously believed. This discovery is not only a win for climate science but also highlights the need to protect the planet’s forests. With more accurate models, we have a better chance of predicting and mitigating the impacts of climate change.