Continuing on this thread, some folks have claimed that higher CO2 means that plants will grow faster, producing more oxygen and, in some cases, food. NewScientist (24 October 2015, paywall) reports on some knock-on effects:
THE carbon dioxide we’ve been pumping into the atmosphere is fertilising plants, making them grow faster – but now those plants are sucking our streams dry.
Australia is already parched and will only become dryer as the planet warms and rainfall decreases. On top of this, the country has lost about a quarter of its streamflow over the past 30 years, as plants given an extra boost by our carbon emissions are growing faster and slurping more water. …
Since there is a lot more carbon in the air than there used to be, plants can partially close their pores and still get the same amount of CO2 while retaining more water, says Ukkola. So early models concluded that if plants lose less water, then there should be more of it in the streams, so streamflow should increase.
But later models disagreed, showing that it depends on exactly how the plants’ growth is affected: if they become more leafy, then they will lose more water to the air.
Usable water is already a problem on this overpopulated planet, as noted here, here, here, and here. But how will losing greater amounts of moisture to the air affect weather patterns? Will other areas by affected by more precipitation? And what will the form take? Gentle rain or horrendous storms?
