Journal
ECOLOGY LETTERS
Volume 7, Issue 6, Pages 446-451Publisher
BLACKWELL PUBLISHING LTD
DOI: 10.1111/j.1461-0248.2004.00597.x
Keywords
air-water exchange; algae; alkalinity; carbon chemistry; carbon cycle; climate change; model; pH
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It is usually thought that unlike terrestrial plants, phytoplankton will not show a significant response to an increase of atmospheric CO2. Here we suggest that this view may be biased by a neglect of the effects of carbon (C) assimilation on the pH and the dissociation of the C species. We show that under eutrophic conditions, productivity may double as a result of doubling of the atmospheric CO2 concentration. Although in practice productivity increase will usually be less, we still predict a productivity increase of up to 40% in marine species with a low affinity for bicarbonate. In eutrophic freshwater systems doubling of atmospheric CO2 may result in an increase of the productivity of more than 50%. Freshwaters with low alkalinity appeared to be very sensitive to atmospheric CO2 elevation. Our results suggest that the aquatic C sink may increase more than expected, and that nuisance phytoplankton blooms may be aggravated at elevated atmospheric CO2 concentrations.
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