Effects of Carbon Dioxide on Protein and Minerals

Figure 7.4

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Allison Crimmins

This figure appears in chapter 7 of the The Impacts of Climate Change on Human Health in the United States: A Scientific Assessment report.

Direct effect of rising atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂) on the concentrations of protein and minerals in crops. The top figure shows that the rise in CO₂ concentration from 293 ppm (at the beginning of the last century) to 385 ppm (global average in 2008) to 715 ppm (projected to occur by 2100 under the RCP8.5 and RCP6.0 pathways),30b72411-16f2-400d-a1f1-deddf0ef757b progressively lowers protein concentrations in wheat flour (the average of four varieties of spring wheat). The lower figure—the average effect on 125 plant species and cultivars—shows that a doubling of CO₂ concentration from preindustrial levels diminishes the concentration of essential minerals in wild and crop plants, including ionome (all the inorganic ions present in an organism) levels, and also lowers protein concentrations in barley, rice, wheat and potato. (Figure source: Experimental data from Ziska et al. 2004 (top figure), Taub et al. 2008, and Loladze 2014 (bottom figure)).de07adc8-7f48-4455-8b2a-6707520acd59 d763a364-656a-4a46-96cc-82800edc3ac2 6f0fe842-95ce-481a-b3f6-473975719843

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This figure was created on November 21, 2014.

The spatial range for this figure is N/A° to N/A° latitude, and N/A° to N/A° longitude.

This figure was derived from Quantitative and qualitative evaluation of selected wheat varieties released since 1903 to increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide: Can yield sensitivity to carbon dioxide be a factor in wheat performance? .

References :

• The RCP greenhouse gas concentrations and their extensions from 1765 to 2300 (30b72411)
• Effects of elevated CO2 on the protein concentration of food crops: a meta-analysis (6f0fe842)
• Quantitative and qualitative evaluation of selected wheat varieties released since 1903 to increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide: Can yield sensitivity to carbon dioxide be a factor in wheat performance? (d763a364)
• Hidden shift of the ionome of plants exposed to elevated CO2 depletes minerals at the base of human nutrition (de07adc8)

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