Experiments conducted at the University of Michigan Biological Station with wild radish have shown that different genetic strains of this common weedy plant vary widely in their ability to reproduce when exposed to higher-than-normal levels of carbon dioxide.
Since scientists expect levels of atmospheric CO2 to double in 60 to 80 years, if present levels of fossil fuel emissions continue, this could mean that the "genetic blueprint" of plants living in the year 2050 may be very different from similar plants growing today.
The study is the first to confirm that reproductive response to elevated CO2 can vary within a single wild plant species. Ohio State University scientists Peter Curtis and Allison Snow with Oregon State University student Amy Miller found substantial differences when they grew five genetic varieties of wild radish in experimental chambers with twice the levels of carbon dioxide found in today’s atmosphere.
Although on average the radish plants produced more flowers and seeds when grown in a high CO2 environment than control groups grown with current levels of atmospheric CO2, responses among the different varieties ranged from no significant effect to a 50 percent increase.
According to Curtis and Snow, plant varieties able to thrive and reproduce in a high CO2 environment are likely to become dominant in the future.
. . . October 1995