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Each year, the atmosphere’s levels of carbon dioxide drop drastically in the Northern Hemisphere. Plants inhale the carbon dioxide in the summer and exhale it whilst growing. In the last half of the century the process of carbon dioxide inhaling and exhaling by the plants has changed and the levels of carbon dioxide have increased with more than 50%.
Scientists have discovered that agricultural produce is one of the factors that lead to this change. There are four agricultural crops and corn crop is one of those which play a major role in affecting and changing the global temperatures.
The news study showing that corn crop disturbs the global temperatures was funded by the National Science Foundation and Liz Blood, the director of the foundation’s Macro Systems Biology Programs said:
“This study shows the power of modeling and data mining in addressing potential sources contributing to seasonal changes in carbon dioxide. It points to the role of basic research in finding answers to complex problems.”
One of the authors of the study, Mark Freidl, a scientist at the Boston University said:
“In the Northern Hemisphere, there’s a strong seasonal cycle of vegetation. Something is changing about this cycle. Ecosystems are becoming more productive, pulling in more atmospheric carbon during the summer and releasing more during the dormant period.”
Scientists believe the change is caused by the effects of the rising global temperatures. They have statistics showing the figures of cultivation and global production. The agricultural crops that lead to this change of climate are corn crop, rice, wheat and soybeans. These crops represent approximately 64% of all calories we consume worldwide. The new study also shows that these crops, especially corn crop have doubled in the Northern Hemisphere. This results in a billion metric tons of carbon dioxide to be captured and released every year.
Researchers estimate that the food production on a global level will double in the next 50 years. the results of this recent study will help the scientists better understand the way carbon dioxide is being inhaled and exhaled by the plants and how the increase of CO2 will affect the global temperatures.
The recent study was published in the journal Nature.
