Articles | Volume 19, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-491-2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-491-2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
28 Jan 2022
Research article |
| 28 Jan 2022
| 28 Jan 2022
Thirty-eight years of CO2 fertilization has outpaced growing aridity to drive greening of Australian woody ecosystems
Sami W. Rifai
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate Extremes, University of
New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
Climate Change Research Centre, University of New South Wales,
Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
Martin G. De Kauwe
ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate Extremes, University of
New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
Climate Change Research Centre, University of New South Wales,
Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
Evolution & Ecology Research Centre, University of New South
Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol,
BS8 1TQ, UK
Anna M. Ukkola
ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate Extremes, University of
New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
Research School of Earth Sciences, Australian National
University, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia
Lucas A. Cernusak
College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University,
Cairns, QLD 4188, Australia
Patrick Meir
Research School of Biology, The Australian National
University, Acton, ACT 2601, Australia
School of Geosciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh
EH89XP, UK
Belinda E. Medlyn
Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney
University, Penrith, NSW 2753, Australia
Andy J. Pitman
ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate Extremes, University of
New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
Climate Change Research Centre, University of New South Wales,
Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
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Cited
28 citations as recorded by crossref.
- Towards species‐level forecasts of drought‐induced tree mortality risk M. De Kauwe et al. 10.1111/nph.18129
- How does wildfire and climate variability affect streamflow in forested catchments? A regional study in eastern Australia D. Guo et al. 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2023.129979
- Plants and water in a changing world: a physiological and ecological perspective R. Caferri & R. Bassi 10.1007/s12210-022-01084-7
- Australian non-perennial rivers: Global lessons and research opportunities M. Shanafield et al. 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2024.130939
- Changes in Blue/Green Water Partitioning Under Severe Drought C. Stephens et al. 10.1029/2022WR033449
- Precipitation leads the long-term vegetation increase in the conterminous United States drylands Y. Chang et al. 10.1088/1748-9326/adb985
- Comprehensive reassessment of Australia's land-surface phenology trends (1982–2022) using circular statistics and a harmonised NDVI dataset C. Burton et al. 10.1016/j.rse.2025.114940
- Understanding the implications of climate change for Australia’s surface water resources: Challenges and future directions C. Wasko et al. 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2024.132221
- Enhancing long-term vegetation monitoring in Australia: a new approach for harmonising the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer normalised-difference vegetation index (NDVI) with MODIS NDVI C. Burton et al. 10.5194/essd-16-4389-2024
- The stomatal response to vapor pressure deficit drives the apparent temperature response of photosynthesis in tropical forests M. Slot et al. 10.1111/nph.19806
- Aboveground biomass in Australian tropical forests now a net carbon source H. Carle et al. 10.1038/s41586-025-09497-8
- Carbon-dioxide-driven increase in foliage projective cover is not the same as increased woody plant density: lessons from an Australian tropical savanna G. Crowley & S. Murphy 10.1071/RJ23001
- Perspective: Flawed assumptions behind analysis of litter decomposition, steady state and fire risks in Australia M. Adams & M. Neumann 10.1016/j.foreco.2024.121741
- Grazing management of Australian native woody regeneration as an effective nature-based climate-change solution C. Waters et al. 10.1071/RJ24032
- Greening and Water Use Efficiency during a period of high frequency of droughts in the Brazilian semi-arid L. Rezende et al. 10.3389/frwa.2023.1295286
- Explaining changes in rainfall–runoff relationships during and after Australia's Millennium Drought: a community perspective K. Fowler et al. 10.5194/hess-26-6073-2022
- Long-term hydrological response emerges from forest self-thinning behaviour and tree sapwood allometry A. Inbar et al. 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.158410
- Plant-groundwater interactions in drylands: A review of current research and future perspectives T. Wang et al. 10.1016/j.agrformet.2023.109636
- Detecting and attributing climate change effects on vegetation: Australia as a test case L. Williams et al. 10.1002/ppp3.70090
- Future fire events are likely to be worse than climate projections indicate – these are some of the reasons why M. Peace & L. McCaw 10.1071/WF23138
- Greening Nonlinearly Intensifies Drought Impacts on Grasslands of the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau J. Wu et al. 10.1111/gcb.70532
- A physically-based potential evapotranspiration model for global water availability projections Z. Liu et al. 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2023.129767
- Vegetation as a driver of shifts in rainfall-runoff relationship: Synthesising hydrological evidence with remote sensing H. Gardiya Weligamage et al. 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2024.132389
- Increased Global Vegetation Productivity Despite Rising Atmospheric Dryness Over the Last Two Decades Y. Song et al. 10.1029/2021EF002634
- Elevation-dependent sensitivity of spectral greening to temperature and precipitation in the Western Himalayas M. Macek et al. 10.1088/1748-9326/adc9c7
- Impacts of the 2019–2020 Black Summer Drought on Eastern Australian Forests N. Arampola et al. 10.3390/rs17050910
- Multi-scale remote sensing of desertification trends and climate–vegetation interactions in the Konya basin, Türkiye (2000–2025) A. Karkınlı 10.28948/ngumuh.1791557
- Thirty-eight years of CO2 fertilization has outpaced growing aridity to drive greening of Australian woody ecosystems S. Rifai et al. 10.5194/bg-19-491-2022
26 citations as recorded by crossref.
- Towards species‐level forecasts of drought‐induced tree mortality risk M. De Kauwe et al. 10.1111/nph.18129
- How does wildfire and climate variability affect streamflow in forested catchments? A regional study in eastern Australia D. Guo et al. 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2023.129979
- Plants and water in a changing world: a physiological and ecological perspective R. Caferri & R. Bassi 10.1007/s12210-022-01084-7
- Australian non-perennial rivers: Global lessons and research opportunities M. Shanafield et al. 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2024.130939
- Changes in Blue/Green Water Partitioning Under Severe Drought C. Stephens et al. 10.1029/2022WR033449
- Precipitation leads the long-term vegetation increase in the conterminous United States drylands Y. Chang et al. 10.1088/1748-9326/adb985
- Comprehensive reassessment of Australia's land-surface phenology trends (1982–2022) using circular statistics and a harmonised NDVI dataset C. Burton et al. 10.1016/j.rse.2025.114940
- Understanding the implications of climate change for Australia’s surface water resources: Challenges and future directions C. Wasko et al. 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2024.132221
- Enhancing long-term vegetation monitoring in Australia: a new approach for harmonising the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer normalised-difference vegetation index (NDVI) with MODIS NDVI C. Burton et al. 10.5194/essd-16-4389-2024
- The stomatal response to vapor pressure deficit drives the apparent temperature response of photosynthesis in tropical forests M. Slot et al. 10.1111/nph.19806
- Aboveground biomass in Australian tropical forests now a net carbon source H. Carle et al. 10.1038/s41586-025-09497-8
- Carbon-dioxide-driven increase in foliage projective cover is not the same as increased woody plant density: lessons from an Australian tropical savanna G. Crowley & S. Murphy 10.1071/RJ23001
- Perspective: Flawed assumptions behind analysis of litter decomposition, steady state and fire risks in Australia M. Adams & M. Neumann 10.1016/j.foreco.2024.121741
- Grazing management of Australian native woody regeneration as an effective nature-based climate-change solution C. Waters et al. 10.1071/RJ24032
- Greening and Water Use Efficiency during a period of high frequency of droughts in the Brazilian semi-arid L. Rezende et al. 10.3389/frwa.2023.1295286
- Explaining changes in rainfall–runoff relationships during and after Australia's Millennium Drought: a community perspective K. Fowler et al. 10.5194/hess-26-6073-2022
- Long-term hydrological response emerges from forest self-thinning behaviour and tree sapwood allometry A. Inbar et al. 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.158410
- Plant-groundwater interactions in drylands: A review of current research and future perspectives T. Wang et al. 10.1016/j.agrformet.2023.109636
- Detecting and attributing climate change effects on vegetation: Australia as a test case L. Williams et al. 10.1002/ppp3.70090
- Future fire events are likely to be worse than climate projections indicate – these are some of the reasons why M. Peace & L. McCaw 10.1071/WF23138
- Greening Nonlinearly Intensifies Drought Impacts on Grasslands of the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau J. Wu et al. 10.1111/gcb.70532
- A physically-based potential evapotranspiration model for global water availability projections Z. Liu et al. 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2023.129767
- Vegetation as a driver of shifts in rainfall-runoff relationship: Synthesising hydrological evidence with remote sensing H. Gardiya Weligamage et al. 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2024.132389
- Increased Global Vegetation Productivity Despite Rising Atmospheric Dryness Over the Last Two Decades Y. Song et al. 10.1029/2021EF002634
- Elevation-dependent sensitivity of spectral greening to temperature and precipitation in the Western Himalayas M. Macek et al. 10.1088/1748-9326/adc9c7
- Impacts of the 2019–2020 Black Summer Drought on Eastern Australian Forests N. Arampola et al. 10.3390/rs17050910
2 citations as recorded by crossref.
- Multi-scale remote sensing of desertification trends and climate–vegetation interactions in the Konya basin, Türkiye (2000–2025) A. Karkınlı 10.28948/ngumuh.1791557
- Thirty-eight years of CO2 fertilization has outpaced growing aridity to drive greening of Australian woody ecosystems S. Rifai et al. 10.5194/bg-19-491-2022
Latest update: 30 Oct 2025
Short summary
Australia's woody ecosystems have experienced widespread greening despite a warming climate and repeated record-breaking droughts and heat waves. Increasing atmospheric CO2 increases plant water use efficiency, yet quantifying the CO2 effect is complicated due to co-occurring effects of global change. Here we harmonized a 38-year satellite record to separate the effects of climate change, land use change, and disturbance to quantify the CO2 fertilization effect on the greening phenomenon.
Australia's woody ecosystems have experienced widespread greening despite a warming climate and...
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