eli5: If plants and trees thrive on Carbon dioxide, and humans are producing more carbon dioxide, does that mean vegetation is benefiting from greenhouse gases? If not, how come?
In: 102
You’re correct that plants and trees need carbon dioxide (CO2) to live. They take in CO2 and water, and with the help of sunlight, they turn them into oxygen and sugar in a process called photosynthesis. This is how they grow and reproduce.
So, you might think that if we have more CO2 in the atmosphere because of human activities, plants and trees would be super happy, right? But it’s not that simple. Here’s why:
Too much of a good thing: While plants need CO2 to grow, too much of it can be harmful. Some plants might initially grow more with higher CO2 levels, but this can change over time. For example, studies have found that many plants growing in high CO2 conditions can end up with less nutritious content, like lower protein levels.
Climate change: The extra CO2 that humans are adding to the atmosphere is causing our planet to heat up, a process known as global warming. This leads to changes in weather patterns, melting ice, rising sea levels, and other problems. Plants and trees often have a hard time adapting to these rapid changes. For example, some trees might not be able to survive in areas that become too hot or too dry.
Other nutrients: Plants need more than just CO2 to grow. They also need nutrients from the soil, like nitrogen and phosphorus. If a plant gets lots of CO2 but not enough of these other nutrients, it won’t be able to grow properly.
Pollution: Unfortunately, human activities don’t just produce CO2. They also produce other pollutants that can harm plants, like ground-level ozone. Ozone can damage plants’ leaves and make it harder for them to photosynthesize.
In short, while plants do need CO2 to grow, the overall effect of human-produced greenhouse gases is harmful to them and the planet as a whole because of the complex ways these gases alter our climate and ecosystems.
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