Stressed Plants Could Negatively Influence the Climate
18 August 2009 | Green News | 1 Comment
On “My Green Treasure” we talked several times about the factors influencing climate evolution and global warming. We strive to present some unusual factors that were not so popular lately. Today I want to start from the next idea: plants can positively influence the climate but on the other hand could lead to an intensification of global warming process.
Two researchers from the University of Calgary have discovered that methane emitted by stressed plants could seriously affect the climate. I think that many of you have heard about the main polluting gas, known as carbon dioxide (co2), able to retain heat and thereby influencing global warming.
Recently was discovered that methane is 23 times more effective in trapping heat than CO2. Plants (crops) that are exposed to pollutants factors, stressful factors, emit a considerable amount of methane, able to retain heat and this thing certainly is not good.
“Most studies just look at one factor. We wanted to mix a few of the environmental factors that are part of the climate change scenario to study a more true-to-life impact climate change has on plants,” David Reid said.
These results were obtained after some experiments made by David Reid professor in the Department of Biological Sciences and an associate Mirwais Qaderi. They exposed several plant species (faba bean, sunflower, pea, canola, barley, wheat) to the main stressful factors known today (ultraviolet radiation, drought and different temperatures), and found that stressed plants emit a large amount of methane that can seriously influence global warming.
“Our results are of importance in the whole climate warming discussion because methane is such a potent greenhouse warming gas…It points to the possibility of yet another possible feedback phenomena which could add to global warming.”
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