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Title: Interactions between vegetation and climate: Radiative and physiological effects of doubled atmospheric CO{sub 2}

Journal Article · · Journal of Climate
 [1];  [2];  [3]
  1. Univ. of Maryland, College Park, MD (United States). Dept. of Meteorology
  2. NASA/GSFC, Greenbelt, MD (United States). Biospheric Sciences Branch
  3. NASA/JSC, Houston, TX (United States); and others

The radiative and physiological effects of doubled atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}) on climate are investigated using a coupled biosphere-atmosphere model. Five 30-yr climate simulations, designed to assess the radiative and physiological effects of doubled CO{sub 2}, were compared to a 30-yr control run. When the CO{sub 2} concentration was doubled for the vegetation physiological calculations only assuming no changes in vegetation biochemistry, the mean temperature increase over land was rather small and was associated with a slight decrease in precipitation. In a second case, the vegetation was assumed to have adapted its biochemistry to a doubled CO{sub 2} (2 {times} CO{sub 2}) atmosphere and this down regulation caused a 35% decrease in stomatal conductance and a 0.7-K increase in land surface temperature. The response of the terrestrial biosphere to radiative forcing alone--that is, a conventional greenhouse warming effect--revealed important interactions between the climate and the vegetation.

OSTI ID:
335305
Journal Information:
Journal of Climate, Vol. 12, Issue 2; Other Information: PBD: Feb 1999
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English