Plants Are Struggling to Keep Up with Rising Carbon Dioxide Concentrations

Plants play a key role in mitigating climate change. The more carbon dioxide they absorb during photosynthesis, the less carbon dioxide remains trapped in the atmosphere where it can cause temperatures to rise. But scientists have identified an unsettling trend – 86% of land ecosystems globally are becoming progressively less efficient at absorbing the increasing levels of CO2 from the atmosphere.

Music credit: "A Curious Incident" from Universal Production Music

Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Scientific Visualization Studio
Kathryn Mersmann (USRA): Lead Producer
Esprit Smith (KBR): Lead Writer
Benjamin Poulter (NASA/GSFC): Scientist