Articles | Volume 19, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-491-2022
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-491-2022
Research article
 | 
28 Jan 2022
Research article |  | 28 Jan 2022

Thirty-eight years of CO2 fertilization has outpaced growing aridity to drive greening of Australian woody ecosystems

Sami W. Rifai, Martin G. De Kauwe, Anna M. Ukkola, Lucas A. Cernusak, Patrick Meir, Belinda E. Medlyn, and Andy J. Pitman

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Cited articles

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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.
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