PART FOUR: THE IMPACT OF ANTHROPOGENIC CLIMATE CHANGE ON PHOTOSYNTHESIS.

Oomans are not merely changing the Earth’s Photosynthetic capacity, whether by destroying or boosting Photosynthesis, they are also changing it indirectly by boosting global burning. In some cases global burning reduces global Photosynthesis whereas in other cases it boosts Photosynthesis. This chapter tries to determine the overall impact of anthropogenic climate change on the Earth’s Photosynthetic capacity.

4.1: Introduction: the Rate and the Scale of Photosynthesis.

In order to understand the impact of a rise in global temperatures on the Earth’s Photosynthetic capacity it is necessary to distinguish between the rate, and the scale, of Photosynthesis.[1] The rate at which Plants carry out Photosynthesis increases as temperatures rise. In general, the warmer the climate, the greater the rate of Photosynthesis. The upper limit to this increase in Photosynthesis is believed to be 18C. Once global temperatures rise above 18C then Plants around the Earth begin to suffer from the heat and, as a consequence, the rate of Photosynthesis will decline.

On the other hand, the scale of Photosynthesis responds to rising global temperatures in a completely different way from the rate of Photosynthesis. The scale of terrestrial Photosynthesis is determined by sea levels. The warmer the global temperature, the greater the melting of the planet's ice sheets, the greater the rise in sea levels, the less land there is for Photosynthesis. Conversely, the colder the global temperature, the greater the scale of the planet's ice sheets, the greater the decline in sea levels, the more land there is for Photosynthesis. In other words, the scale of Photosynthesis decreases with rising temperatures and increases with falling temperatures.[2]

The scale of marine Photosynthesis reinforces the tendencies of terrestrial Photosynthesis. The warmer the oceans become, the greater the oceanic stratification, the fewer the nutrients which rise to the surface to stimulate the growth of marine Algae. The colder the temperature, the weaker the oceanic stratification, the greater the upwelling of nutrients, the greater the marine Photosynthesis, “Algal ecosystems of the oceans grow best when the sea surface temperature is 10C. Not necessarily because the ocean organisms are different in their temperature response to land plants, but because for geophysical reasons the ocean surface layers tend to form a stable inversion, the thermocline, when the heat flux increases. In practice, the thermocline forms when the surface layers exceed about 10C. When this happens the cooler, nutrient rich, waters below the thermocline can not mix with the surface water and the organisms starve. Satellite views taken to show surface temperature, algal density, and cloud cover, reveal dense algal growth to be limited to ocean regions where the surface temperature is near or below 10C; these are also the regions of maximum cloud cover ..”[3]; “Algae can grow well in warm waters where there is an ample supply of nutrients, but such favoured regions tend to be small in area and where nutrient rich cold water upwells along the edges of the continents.”[4]

Common sense suggests that Photosynthesis increases with rising temperatures. This is true as far as the rate of Photosynthesis is concerned. However, on the planetary level the scale of Photosynthesis decreases with a rise in global temperatures. Lovelock believes that of the two factors involved in determining the Earth's Photosynthetic capacity, the dominant factor is the scale of Photosynthesis.

4.2: The Decrease in the Earth's Photosynthetic Capacity brought about by Global Burning.

4.2.1: A Rise in Global Temperatures causes a Decline in Terrestrial Photosynthesis.

As global temperatures rise, ocean levels will rise causing the inundation of coastal areas. This will lead to a decline in terrestrial Photosynthesis. According to the unep, “Given the present degree of protection, a sea-level rise of one metre would cause estimated land losses of 0.05% in Uruguay, 1% in Egypt, 6% in the Netherlands, 17.5% in Bangladesh, and up to about 80% for Atoll Majuro in the Marshall Islands.”[5] Grover foley has suggested that, “A one metre rise in sea-level .. would affect up to 5 million square kilometres, 3% of the total land area of the planet, including many of the world’s major cities such as New York, London, Bangkok. Crucially it would also affect as much as 30% of the total cropland in the world. Half of the population of the united states lives within 50 miles of a vulnerable coastline.”[6]

4.2.2: A Rise in Global Temperatures causes a Decline in Marine Photosynthesis.

As global temperatures rise there is an increase in oceanic stratification preventing cold waters containing nutrients from rising to the surface of the sea and stimulating the growth of marine Algae, “Kump and lovelock conclude that ocean warming is now proceeding rapidly, especially in the tropics and lower latitudes, with the result that Plankton activity is declining.”[7]; “Rising temperatures could reduce the oceans’ ability to absorb Carbon dioxide by as much as 50%, leaving the greenhouse gas in the atmosphere to heat the Earth further. Until now, climate models such as those by the ipcc, have assumed that the oceans’ capacity to remove CO₂ from the atmosphere will stay constant as the world warms, “Warmer oceans will be more stratified, causing the ocean circulation system to slow down. As a result, it will absorb much less CO₂ than at present - 50% less in some scenarios.” says sarmiento of princeton university.”[8] For example, it has been stated that .. “researchers at the scripps institution of oceanography published results of a survey off southern california, where the surface water had warmed by 1.5C since 1951. The warmer water had become less well mixed over the period, and consequently the biomass of zooplankton had decreased by fully 80%. Associated with this decline had been a drop in fish and bird populations ...”[9]

4.2.3: The Rise in Global Temperatures Decreases the Solubility of the Oceans.

As global temperatures rise, the oceans become less soluble to CO_2. The oceans then start releasing the gas into the atmosphere, “Carbon dioxide is only slightly soluble in water and, as with oxygen, its solubility decreases as the temperature rises.”[10] The less Carbon dissolved in the surface waters of the oceans, the less nutrients there are for marine Photosynthesis, “Once dissolved in surface waters, CO₂ is absorbed by plankton and other marine organisms.”[11]

4.2.4: The Rise in Global Temperatures causes the Destruction of Coral Reefs.

Another major factor reinforcing the decline in marine Photosynthesis with rising global temperatures, is the destruction of Coral Reefs, "The world's coral reefs face destruction from global warming that could be worse for the world than the loss of tropical rain forests. Coral reefs perform an equally valuable ecological function in absorbing carbon gas."[12] It is suspected that Coral reefs are already being damaged by the warming of the oceans, “By the 1990s there were around 10 bleaching events a year, affecting 20 countries. Usually the coral recovers in the following cool season, but if all algae are lost the coral will die. Some galapagos reefs hit by bleaching in 1983 have yet to recover.”[13]; “Australian marine scientist, clive wilkinson, from the australian institute of marine science in townsville, says climate change and contamination will destroy one-third of the world’s coral reefs within 20 years and two-thirds within 40 years. Wilkinson believes that reefs in the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Java, the Caribbean, east Africa and Florida will be gone within the twenty year period. Coral experts believe that coral reefs may be deteriorating faster than the world’s tropical forests.”[14]; “Let us not understate this (coral bleaching). We are dealing with the prospect of slight increases in temperature killing, en masse, the very living foundations of tropical paradise on this planet.”[15]; “In the mid-1980s, coral bleaching began to occur on a large scale. In 1998, coral bleaching was more severe than ever before and occurred in at least 60 countries (ISRS 1999 and ITMEMS 1998). Although the links between global climate change, El Nino phenomena and extensive coral bleaching are still subject to debate (ISRS 1999), it has been suggested that only global warming could have induced such extensive bleaching simultaneously throughout the disparate reef regions of the world (Pomerance 1999). What permanent effect the alarming 1998 event will have remains to be seen.”[16]; “More than half of the world's coral reefs are threatened by human activities, with up to 80 per cent at risk in the most populated areas. While some may yet be saved, it is too late for many others.”[17] In 1999, it was stated, “The imminent total destruction of the world's coral reefs is not a scare story but a fact. Last year, marine biologists reported that between 70% and 90% of the coral reefs they surveyed in the Indian Ocean had just died. This year, much of the remainder is likely to follow. When the temperature of the ocean rises by more than a degree or so, the algae which live in the coral evacuate. As the sugars they produced run out, the polyps go hungry. Last year, which appears to have been the warmest of the millennium, the ocean temperature rose by up to 2.4 degrees. Thousands of miles of reefs in the Indian Ocean, the Red Sea, the Gulf, South East Asia and the Western Pacific starved to death. This year the sea is likely to become warmer still.”[18]

The destruction of Coral Reefs would be a self perpetuating disaster: the greater the destruction of Coral reefs, the less Carbon would be removed from the atmosphere, the greater the warming of the oceans, the greater the destruction of Coral reefs, and so on.

4.2.5: The Rise in Global Temperatures causes the destruction of Wetlands.

It has been noted that as global temperatures rise, the northern ice sheets melt causing a rise in sea levels around the world. This damages not only coastal Forests but coastal wetlands. It is likely that salt water intrusion of coastal wetlands would lead to a reduction in Photosynthesis, “The current global loss of wetlands amounts to 3 million to 6 million hectares .. annually. They are being lost to human development as well as sea-level rise, a cause for concern because of the biodiversity implications. Professor Pier Vellinga warns that the loss of biological diversity can in principle have major impacts on the global biogeochemical system.”[19]; "According to EPA estimates, erosion, inundation and salt water intrusion could reduce the area of present day US coastal wetlands up to 80% if current projections of future global sea level are realized."[20]; “Non-tidal wetlands will also be reduced. These open-water and waterlogged areas provide refuge and breeding grounds for many species. They also help to improve water quality and control floods and droughts. Studies from several countries suggest that a warmer climate will contribute to the decline of wetlands through higher evaporation. By altering their hydrological regimes, climate change will influence the biological, biogeochemical, and hydrological functions of these ecosystems, as well as their geographical distribution.”[21]

4.2.6: The Rise in Global Temperatures Boosts Vegetation Dieback.

It has been reported that, “Andrew white and melvin cannell of the ite have created a computer model which shows that unmitigated business as usual emissions will cause a global vegetation dieback over 4 million square kilometres - approximately the size of brazil’s amazon region - within a century. Stabilization of atmospheric CO₂ at 750 ppm leads ultimately to vegetation losses of 3 million square kilometres; stabilization at 550 ppm leads to losses of one million square kilometres..”[22]; “Nearly half of the planet’s forest has already been destroyed and the rate of loss is still alarmingly high. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, or IPCC (a group of more than 2,500 of the world’s leading scientists) has concluded that “forests are highly sensitive to climate change” and that up to one third of currently forested areas could be affected in some way.”[23]

4.2.7: The Rise in Global Temperatures Boosts Forest Fires.

The warmer the climate, the greater the number of Forest fires, the greater the boost to global burning. There is a strong suspicion that global burning, especially as a result of el nino episodes, is triggering off Forest fires around large parts of the Earth.

General.

“Although south-east Asian smog caught the headlines last year, and north-east Brazil is now the centre of attention, there were devastating fires in nine other major forest countries last year. The worst hit countries were Papua New Guinea, Colombia, Peru, Tanzania, Kenya, Rwanda, Australia, China and Russia. In Europe, France, Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain lost large areas of already scarce temperate forest.”[24]

1996-98.

“During 1996-98, fire swept through forests in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China's northeastern Inner Mongolian region, France, Greece, Indonesia, Italy, Mexico and several other countries in Latin America, the Russian Federation, Turkey and the United States. Satellite photos showed that about 3.3 million hectares of Brazilian forest were devastated as a result of the fires. More than 3 million hectares of forest in Mongolia were burnt in 1996. The fires in Southeast Asia in 1997 were the worst in 15 years, with at least 4.5 million hectares burnt, and smoke and haze affecting some 70 million people (Liew and others 1998).”[25]; “1997-98 will probably be deemed the worst year ever for the wholesale destruction of forests, owing to fires started by humans running out of control because of lack of rain.”[26]; “Another large-scale example of trends reinforcing each other can be seen in the Amazon, where the forest is being weakened by logging and by clearing for agriculture. As the Amazonian forest dwindles, it dries out.  As it becomes drier, it becomes more vulnerable to fire. The fire feedback loop is also affected by forces outside the region, such as higher temperatures. By burning large amounts of coal and oil, the United States, China, and other countries may, in effect, be burning the Amazon.”[27]

The United States of America.

“With the american west suffering its worst fire season for half a century, firefighters were yesterday battling more than 60 major fires consuming 750,000 acres of forest, scrubland and mountain wilderness. Freak dry lightning strikes set off blazes in the bone-dry rockies and sierra nevada ranges .. Forestry and park officials said that the spread of people camping and residential homedwellers into remote areas in the united states has not only made it harder to clear the forest floor of inflammable materials, but has also made the task of doing so far more pressing.”[28] The urbanization of Wilderness areas is significantly reducing Forests' Carbon storage capabilities. The protection of ooman interests from environmental hazards is boosting global burning.

4.2.8: The Rise in Local Temperatures Increases Droughts.

“Droughts in west africa over the past 20 years may have been caused by the destruction of rainforests in countries such as nigeria, ghana, and cote d’ivoire, according to a new study. Further deforestation in the region “could cause the complete collapse of the west african monsoon”, says xinyu zheng at mit. West african coastal rainforests, which receive copious amounts of rain from winds coming off the atlantic ocean, have helped to maintain rainfall in the drier lands of the interior. At the beginning of this century, the west african forests covered around 500,000 square kilometres. Since then, up to 90% have disappeared to make way for farms and other kinds of human activity such as mining.”[29] This is an example of deforestation boosting local temperatures which then feeds back to boost further deforestation.

4.2.9: Global Temperatures rising too fast for the Migration of Forests.

A rise in global temperatures shifts temperate climate zones towards the poles. The more rapid the rise in temperatures, the greater the difficulty that Forests would have in migrating to keep within the same climatic zone, “The worst sufferers (from global burning) are likely to be Trees. Climatic limits are estimated to shift by 125-185 miles per degreeC of warming, or 60 miles per decade under the ipcc business as usual scenario. A Forest can shift at half a mile per year, 5 miles per decade, maximum .. Faster than that and it will die .. ”[30]; “In 1995 the UK Meteorological Office Hadley Centre noted: "The global mean rate of change is predicted to be a little above 0.2.C/decade in the early part of the next century; approximately twice the rate of change that many of the more sensitive ecosystems are thought to be capable of surviving". It further pointed out that such rates: "are likely to exceed the adaptive capacity of many ecosystems. Indeed the IPCC concluded that 0.1oC/decade was probably the maximum that many ecosystems could tolerate."”[31]

It is believed the rise in global temperature will first affect higher latitude regions. This will make it difficult for the taiga Forests to survive, “Boreal Forests are likely to have the hardest time in terms of climate change because they are in the regions where the temperature is expected to rise faster than anywhere else 4-5C above current temperatures.”[32]

4.2.10: The Rise in Global Temperatures causes the thawing.of Ice Sheets and mass Deforestation.

It has been suggested above that, at the end of the last ice age, the thawing of continental ice sheets allowed the Reforestation of the exposed land. This process continues today. However, in some instances, the thawing of ice sheets leads to deforestation further boosting global burning, “Let’s look now at the arctic ice pack, where in 1997 and 1998 scientists began to observe unprecedented thinning of the ice. Buildings began to topple in siberia as permafrost melted and shallow foundations disintegrated. In alaska, melting permafrost began killing millions of trees by flooding their roots.”[33]

4.2.11: The Rise in Global Temperatures Boosts Climate Disasters.

The greater the rise in global temperatures, the greater the rise in climate disasters such as floods, fires, storms, etc most of which result in deforestation.

Hurricane Mitch, October 1998.

“For example, in October 1998, Hurricane Mitch slammed into Central America and stalled for more than a week. Nightmarish mudslides obliterated entire villages; 10,000 people died; half the population of Honduras was displaced and the country lost 95 percent of its crops. Global warming and the more destructive storms associated with it may explain why Mitch was the fourth strongest hurricane to enter the Caribbean this century, but much of the damage was caused by deforestation. If forests had been gripping the soil on those hills, fewer villages would have been buried in mudslides.”[34]; “Hurricane Mitch killed more people than any storm in the western world for 200 years. It was the fourth fiercest hurricane in the Caribbean this century. When it turned inland and stalled for two days over the mountains of central Honduras, it picked its spot with deadly skill. Forced to rise 2000 metres, it cooled and dumped huge amounts of moisture picked up from the sea. Over two days, some 40 cubic kilometres of water fell on Honduras and neighbouring areas of Nicaragua and El Salvador - three-quarters of what normally falls in a whole year. Mitch has changed the landscape of parts of Central America forever. The Caribbean has experienced more hurricanes in the past four years than ever before. And 1999 is expected to be another busy year. Climatologists blame the more intense atmospheric circulation created by global warming, plus the warmer oceans. Hurricanes form only when sea temperatures rise above 27 degrees Celsius.”[35]

Forest Fringe Effects.

“The effect on global warming of clearing rainforests may have been seriously underestimated. A team from brazil has found that carbon emissions from the felling of tropical forests are generally 7% higher than previously thought, and as much as 42% higher in some places. Recent estimates suggest that deforestation worldwide releases about 2 billion tonnes of Carbon into the atmosphere every year through burning and decomposition, a large proportion of which comes from the tropics. But according to william laurance .. the figures do not take into account the extra carbon dioxide produced by fragments of forests left after clearing. .. Laurance and his team found that the fringes of forests - within 100 metres of the edge - lose significantly more vegetation than the inner areas because they are exposed to higher winds and other extremes of climate. The resulting decomposition emits considerable quantities of carbon dioxide and methane, two major greenhouse gases. The loss of trees also means there is less biological matter capable of absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere during growth.”[36]

4.2.12: The Rise in Global Temperatures Boosts the numbers of ‘Pests’ damaging Forests.

4.2.12.1: General.

The warmer the climate, the greater the number of so-called 'pests'. Such is the scale of the damage they cause they could even offset the increase in Photosynthesis brought about by the fertilization effect, “In its latest assessment, the inter-governmental panel on climate change (ipcc) acknowledges that climate change will have major, but varying, impacts on agriculture worldwide. It concludes, nevertheless, that, overall, food production will not be jeopardized. Key to that conclusion is the assumption that elevated Carbon dioxide levels will stimulate Plant growth. .. its optimistic conclusions as to future food supply take no account whatsoever of the likely impacts of pest, disease and a range of other factors.”[37]

4.2.12.2: Caterpillars in Alaska.

“Budworm caterpillars are munching their way through the forests of alaska. In the past five years they have scoffed 40,000 hectares of sitka spruce. Ecologists are now blaming higher temperatures - and after a warm start to the summer are preparing themselves for the most destructive yet.”[38]

4.2.13: The Rise in Global Temperatures causes an increase in Soil Temperatures.

“Global warming will hit our planet where we least expect it - below ground. Damage to crops and plants could be severe and unpredictable as a result, This dramatic discovery has been made using the Ecotron, a £10 million device that can recreate a host of different environments by varying water, carbon dioxide, temperature, daylight levels, and many other variables. Scientists at the Centre for Population Biology have used it to recreate climate conditions for the year 2060 when rising atmospheric temperatures and carbon dioxide levels are expected to induce severe changes in weather patterns, sea-levels, agriculture and wildlife. 'Life on Earth's surface was thought to be especially vulnerable, but we have found that underground things could be worse,' says project director Dr Hefin Jones. In 2060, global temperatures will have risen by 2 degrees Celsius, and carbon dioxide levels will have increased by about 50 per cent, the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change has warned. So, for nine months, scientists have grown crops under these conditions in their Ecotron. They have found that the main impact would not be on plant life, but on soil composition. 'If you took a teaspoon of soil and studied it under a microscope, you would see that it teems with little creatures, which are known as springtails,' says Jones. 'These play an important role in the biological activity of soil. There are many different species of springtail, however, and we found that those that dominated soil today would be replaced by other species. That could have a considerable impact on plants growing there. 'We do not know exactly what that impact would be. We need more research for that. All we can say now is that a large question mark hovers over the issue of soil biology. In other words, even the ground beneath our feet could change because of global warming.'”[39]

4.2.14: The Rise in Global Temperatures causes an increase in Refugees.

As global burning takes effect it is believed it will create a massive number of environmental refugees. It will create droughts forcing people to flee their homes and their land. Global burning will also lead to rises in sea levels which will inundate large areas of coastal land creating more environmental refugees. It has already been noted that rising sea levels could affect as much as 30% of the world's cropland .. “85% of the world’s rice production takes place in south, south-east and east asia. About 10% of this production is located in areas that are considered to be vulnerable to sea level rise, thereby endangering the food supply of more than 200 million people. Such a sea level rise could create 50 million environmental refugees - more than three times the number of refugees from all causes in the early 1990s.”

[40]; “If the sea level rises 1m then 10-15% of egypt’s productive land will be lost and up to 10 million people will lose their homes.”[41] Grover foley fears that, “Climate change, at a conservative estimate, will increase the number of environmental refugees six-fold over the next fifty years: from 25 million to 150 million.”[42]

Global burning will also cause inland flooding leading to yet more environmental refugees, "A couple of weeks ago, headlines flashed the latest flood catastrophe in china, which displaced between one and three million people and affected another 4.3 million. Yet these refugees are only a small part of a silent crisis that has been building up in china for several years now. The government acknowledges that there are at least 120 million peasants roaming around the interior, landless and workless. Some six million of them can be considered to have been driven from their homes by long term environmental problems .."

[43]; “China experienced devastating floods during 1996. In some locations, these were the worst in 50 years. The flooding caused more than 1000 deaths and around 20 million people were affected through injury or property damage. The Mekong Delta in Vietnam remained flooded for over a month as a result of heavy rainfall along the Mekong River.”[44]

Bo r doos has concluded, “In many parts of the world people are being forced to leave their homelands due to various types of environmental problems. According to recent studies the number of such refugees is now at least 10 million, but it may be as much as 25 million. Although the number of these refugees today is alarming, it cannot be excluded that during the next decades forced displacement of people - environmental migration - will increase dramatically. Nevertheless, estimates have been made which indicate that in 2030 the annual migration may be as much as about four million persons. It has been estimated that sea-level rise caused by global warming, together with the ongoing subsidence of some coastal areas, may force a permanent displacement of as much as 100 million people living  in low-lying coastal areas by the middle of the next century.”[45]

Environmental refugees will scour the Earth looking for food and fire-wood thereby destroying all Photomass they come across. Global warming will become one of the main causes third world poverty.

4.3: The Increase in Photosynthesis brought about by Global Burning.

The above sections suggest that anthropogenic global burning would reduce the Earth's Photosynthetic capacity. However, there are cases where it may boost Photosynthesis.

4.3.1: The Rate of Photosynthesis.

It has been predicted that as global temperatures rise, the northern ice sheets retreat, and the land exposed eventually becomes reforested. Something similar is already happening today as a result of global burning.

The Greening of the Antarctic.

As temperatures increase, the snow is melting in various parts of the antarctic and the exposed land is being covered in greenery. Geoffrey lean has reported, “Three entire ice shelves have disintegrated over the past few years, the Antarctic summer has grown dramatically longer, an important glacier is dissolving into the sea three times faster than had been thought, and part of the white continent is turning green as flowers and grasses spread rapidly over it.”[46] However, this is not yet happening on a large enough scale to produce a major impact on the climate.

The Greening of Iceland.

"Europe's biggest glacier is about to disintegrate. The mighty breidamerkurjokull in southern iceland is breaking apart and will slide into the north atlantic in the next few years. Researchers' discovery of the imminent destruction of this gigantic river of ice demonstrates starkly that global warming is now making a serious impact on the northern hemisphere , threatening to melt ice caps and raise sea levels around the world. Breidamerkurjokull is the main glacier emanating from the massive vatnajokull ice sheet that covers much of southern iceland, and has been studied intensively for the past century .. In the past 30 years, old farmlands have reappeared around breidamerkurjokull .. Local people have already moved on to this land and begun cropping grass and grazing sheep."[47] When are these livestock loonies ever going to learn.

4.3.2: An Increase in the Growing Season.

In many parts of the world, global burning is bringing about an increase in the growing season which enables more Photosynthesis to take place, “Global warming has added 11 days to the british summer. Scientists made the discovery by studying plants and trees, which have more time to grow when temperatures rise. They found spring starts six days earlier than 30 years ago while autumn begins almost five days later. The study monitored changes since the 1960s at 50 scientific sites - called international phenological gardens - across europe. The scientists at munich university, whose work is published in Nature magazine today .. .”[48]

4.3.3: The Fertilization Effect brought about by Global Burning.

It has been pointed out that oomans are dumping vast quantities of nutrients into the environment. However, global burning is also doing the same. As global temperatures rise there will be an increase in storms which will pick up large quantities of dust and transport them around the Earth. Dust .. “storms have always been a feature of desert climates, but there is evidence that they are happening more often, partially because of human activities. This trend has wide-ranging implications, and not just for the inhabitants of drylands. A strong wind can blow soil dust from any dry, sparsely vegetated surface, but the main sources are in arid and semi-arid regions where these conditions prevail for much of the year. The world’s drylands are thought to produce more than a billion tons of dust every year. Most comes from the wide expanses across the middle east to the deserts of asia. As researchers have recognized the contribution of desert dust to climate change so they have realized that up to half the volume of atmospheric desert dust is attributable to human activities. Dust deposition also has benefits, however. Since many dusts are nutrient rich, their contribution is important to ecosystems, particularly in the oceans but also on land. Saharan dust contributes key nutrients to the Amazon rainforest.”[49]

4.4: Conclusions.

It has been shown how global burning both increases, and decreases, the Earth's Photosynthetic capacity. It is likely that as global burning increases it will bring about a net decrease in the Earth's Photosynthetic capacity.