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Increase of atmospheric CO 2 promotes phytoplankton productivity
Author(s) -
Schippers Peter,
Lürling Miquel,
Scheffer Marten
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
ecology letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.852
H-Index - 265
eISSN - 1461-0248
pISSN - 1461-023X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1461-0248.2004.00597.x
Subject(s) - phytoplankton , eutrophication , productivity , alkalinity , environmental science , ecology , sink (geography) , plankton , environmental chemistry , oceanography , biology , chemistry , nutrient , geography , geology , economics , macroeconomics , cartography , organic chemistry
It is usually thought that unlike terrestrial plants, phytoplankton will not show a significant response to an increase of atmospheric CO 2 . Here we suggest that this view may be biased by a neglect of the effects of carbon (C) assimilation on the pH and the dissociation of the C species. We show that under eutrophic conditions, productivity may double as a result of doubling of the atmospheric CO 2 concentration. Although in practice productivity increase will usually be less, we still predict a productivity increase of up to 40% in marine species with a low affinity for bicarbonate. In eutrophic freshwater systems doubling of atmospheric CO 2 may result in an increase of the productivity of more than 50%. Freshwaters with low alkalinity appeared to be very sensitive to atmospheric CO 2 elevation. Our results suggest that the aquatic C sink may increase more than expected, and that nuisance phytoplankton blooms may be aggravated at elevated atmospheric CO 2 concentrations.