Carbon Dioxide Fertilization
Greening Earth, Study Finds
“From a quarter to half
of Earth’s vegetated lands
has shown significant greening
over the last 35 years
largely due to rising levels
of atmospheric carbon dioxide,
according to a new study
published in the journal
Nature Climate Change on April 25.
An international team of 32 authors
from 24 institutions in eight countries
led the effort, which involved
using satellite data from NASA’s
Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer
and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration’s Advanced Very High
Resolution Radiometer instruments
to help determine the leaf area index,
or amount of leaf cover,
over the planet’s vegetated regions.
The greening represents an increase
in leaves on plants and trees equivalent
in area to two times the continental United States.”