====== CO2 fertilization effect ( CFE ) ======

The CO<sub>2</sub> Fertilization Effect refers to the fact that increased atmospheric CO<sub>2 </sub>levels can encourage plant growth. This is a well known effect, and is exploited in farms which grow crops in greenhouses with artificially elevated CO<sub>2 </sub>levels.

The effect has a dramatic impact in computer modelling of climate change - because when CO<sub>2</sub> levels rise, plants grow faster, thereby absorbing more carbon from the atmosphere. This provides a 'negative feedback' effect, slowing down climate change. Some estimates of the CFE suggest that it may account for up to 60% of the current terrestrial carbon sink.

A 2020 international study found not only that the //size// of the global CFE may have been overestimated, but also that the effect currently appears to be //diminishing each year// (over the last 40 years or so) - for unknown reasons.

>The enhanced vegetation productivity driven by increased concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO<sub>2</sub>) [i.e., the CO<sub>2</sub> fertilization effect (CFE)] sustains an important negative feedback on climate warming, but the temporal dynamics of CFE remain unclear.
>[ source below ]

The implications are that current climate models may not be correct - and that climate change may accelerate faster than the models have been suggesting.

>Ultimately, these results indicate that terrestrial photosynthesis may not increase as much as models project, possibly reducing the potential of land-based climate mitigation, further accelerating global warming and exacerbating the efforts required for meeting climate targets.
>[ source below ]

See [[https://science.sciencemag.org/content/370/6522/1295.full|Recent global decline of CO2 fertilization effects on vegetation photosynthesis]] //Science //11 Dec 2020:, Vol. 370, Issue 6522, pp. 1295-1300

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