Recent scientific investigation, curiously missing from constant mainstream media reports of ecological Armageddon, confirms that trees are getting larger around the world due to higher levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide fertilisation.
A little extra of the gas of life, nature’s bountiful plant food, has led to bigger trees and more leaf growth over the last few decades. The recent small recovery in the near-denuded level of CO2 that was a threat to plant and human life on Earth has led to an astonishing 15%-plus increase in overall global vegetation growth in the last 40 years. Plants including trees have evolved to thrive in levels of atmospheric CO2 about three times higher than the current 420 parts per million (ppm) and scientific evidence is clearly showing rising levels are leading to faster growth in flora that is both healthier and more resistant to nature’s hazards such as drought.
Fascinating results are starting to emerge from a controlled Free-Air Carbon Dioxide Enrichment (FACE) experiment conducted since 2017 by the Birmingham Institute of Forest Research. This involved increasing CO2 levels to 550 ppm across patches of a 180-year old Oak forest in Staffordshire, England. When compared to controlled plots without the CO2 boost, it was found that oaks fed with the extra plant food showed growth rates that were an astonishing 10% higher in the period 2017-2023. Most of the growth is attributed to wood production. Compared to trees making do with the current 420 ppm, the boosted oaks are estimated to have produced an additional 1.7 tonnes of dry matter per hectare per year.
Hellbound and Down 