Long-term effects of free-air CO2 enrichment experiments
When it comes to global climate change, it is commonly known that carbon-dioxide (CO2) levels in the atmosphere are on the rise. This is caused by many factors beginning with and related to the industrial revolution as well as global warming, regional climate changes and rapid sea-level increase. Since CO2 in the atmosphere alters plant photosynthesis and water use, it thus also affects vegetation and ecosystems such as crops and forests. Therefore a crucial factor for global change research is that of examining how vegetation and ecosystems are affected by increasing concentrations of CO2. Based on CO2 enrichment studies in greenhouses, growth chambers, and open-top chambers, it is found that plant growth may be increased by an average of 30%. This would occur by doubling the concentration of atmospheric CO2 in the short-term, as in up to a few years at most. The FACE approach can eliminate numerous substantial limitations that occur when using the greenhouse and chamber systems, particularly large/tall vegetation such as trees. This is because FACE technology has the advantage of not altering the microclimate of the test area, allowing research on impacts of global change to be conducted at the ecosystem level. Furthermore it can expose plants and ecosystems to levels of atmospheric CO2 over the next 50 years. FACE is comprised of four sites, including one in Europe and three in the USA, which synthesizes key similarities (such as tree growth) regarding the primary and secondary responses to elevated CO2. FACE's primary aim in collecting information in the four forest systems studied is to synthesise the information in order to make it accessible for modelling and assessment. Once that takes place, its implementation could have profound effects on the environment and for the agricultural industry.
