PRESS OFFICE
PRESS NOTE
Peter Reich of the University of Minnesota explains his latest research
findings at a talk in the BBVA Foundation
Plants may absorb less CO2 than is
commonly supposed in predictive models of
global warming
September 11, 2007. Professor Peter Reich, Chair in Forest Ecology and Tree
Physiology at the University of Minnesota (United States) described the results of
his recent research into plant biodiversity and global warming to an audience at
the BBVA Foundation (BBVA Auditorium. Castellana, 81). Peter Reich ranks among
the world’s five most cited scientists in the ecology and environment area,
according to the Institute for Scientific Information (Thomson-ISI).
Studies carried out by Prof. Reich over the last six years suggest that the world’s
land plants may sequester less carbon dioxide than assumed by many of the
models now in use to predict the speed of global warming. He affirms that “Loss of
biodiversity and low soil fertility will impair the capacity of ecosystems to cope with
the increase in CO2”.
Reich’s work at the University of Minnesota has shown that limitations on the soil
availability of nitrogen will likely translate as a diminishing of plants’ ability to
absorb carbon dioxide. Given that a large proportion of the world’s soils are
nitrogen-limited, the study implies that atmospheric CO2 levels could veer sharply
higher if plants lose their ability to “feed off” the extra carbon dioxide that humans
are producing. Since rising atmospheric CO2 levels are the largest cause of
“greenhouse” warming, this raises the possibility of accelerated global climate
change.
The study conducted by Peter Reich’s team is the first long-term examination in an
open-air setting of how the availability of soil nitrogen affects the abilities of
ecosystems to grow in size by absorbing greater quantities of CO2. “After a few
years, there was only a very modest increase in growth due to CO2 unless extra
nitrogen was added”. According to Reich, the data obtained in the University of
Minnesota study are similar to those found in another, two-year study in a pine
plantation. Given that plant productivity round the globe is limited by insufficient
nitrogen supply, these studies suggest that terrestrial ecosystems will not soak up
future anthropogenic CO2 emissions as vigorously as in the past.
PETER REICH holds the Chair of Forest Ecology and Tree Physiology at the
University of Minnesota (United States). His research interests lie in ecology,
global change and the sustainability of terrestrial forest ecosystems, and he has
started up an international scientific network to develop a global database on plant
physiology.
The author of over 280 articles in scientific books and journals, including Science
and Nature, he has pursued his research interests through tropical, temperate and
boreal ecosystems in all five continents. Prof. Reich has sat on the editorial boards
of the world’s most prestigious journals and has been the recipient of numerous
awards. He has participated in advisory committees for the National Science
Foundation, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, NASA, the EPA and the U.S.
Forestry Service.
For further information, contact the
BBVA Foundation Press Office (+34 91 537 6615 /+34 94 487 4627)
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