Increased CO2 Altered Photosynthesis Over the 20^th Century

Researchers at Umeå University and the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences have discovered that increasing levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere have shifted photosynthetic metabolism in plants over the 20^th century. The first study worldwide, it deduced biochemical regulation of plant metabolism from historical specimens.

By monitoring plant metabolism retrospectively using historic plant samples, this research group has quantified how much increased atmospheric CO2 levels during the 20th century have contributed to plants' ability to capture the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. They also observed shifted photosynthetic metabolism in both wild plant species as well as crops.

The study analyzed different C3 plants, and calories for human nutrition. In sugar beet samples that grew at different times between 1890 and 2012. The researchers observed a change in metabolic fluxes, which can fully be explained as CO2-driven shift, without a noticeable influence of cultivars, changes in agricultural practices or by plant breeding.

For more information, read the news release from Umeå University.