NEW YORK: Every winter the plants die and come back to the earth from where they came. One of the most necessary element they discharge is carbon dioxide.
Through respiration process, plants consume carbon dioxide but they do not burn it they stock it and when they die, the CO2 comes back to the environment. Recently, farmland has become more efficient. Soil can provide more crops per acre and it means that every winter, more plants release more CO2 and it looks as if it will contribute to climate change.
“Over last 50 years, area of croplands in the Northern Hemisphere has been relatively stable, but production has intensified enormously. The fact that this land area can affect the composition of the atmosphere is an amazing fingerprint of human activity on the planet”, said Boston University’s Mark Friedl.
The same global production statistics for four of the world’s leading crops: corn, rice, wheat, and soybean have been collected by scientists. These four crops account for 64% of all calories consumed around the world. Scientists found that crops in the Northern Hemisphere seem to have the most influence.
Plants breathe in and out in a specific pattern that causes carbon dioxide to follow a seasonal cycle every year. But, it seems that this breathing pattern has considerably deepened since 1950. Two independent teams of scientists found the reason for this increased swing in CO2 levels. They found that farming accounts for anywhere between 20 and 50% of carbon dioxide that is consumed by plants in summer and given back at the time of the winter months.
One study studied crop statistics and utilized carbon-mapping tools to investigate four major crops: corn rice, soy and wheat. It was found that increased production leads to a 25% increase in seasonal carbon dioxide swing size.
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