As the atmosphere's CO2 concentration continues to rise, most trees will likely exhibit increased rates of photosynthesis and biomass production, which can subsequently lead to an increase in the amount of timber that will likely be required to meet the growing needs of earth's expanding human population. However, some individuals have predicted that CO2-induced global warming will counteract the growth-promoting effects of atmospheric CO2 enrichment and actually reduce tree growth. Therefore, in order to determine if this widely-trumpeted claim has any validity, we turn to the peer-reviewed scientific literature to both report and summarize the results of several CO2-enrichment studies that were designed to reveal the concurrent effects of elevated CO2 and air temperature on the growth of trees and other woody plants.

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Writing as background for their work, Kaspari et al. (2011)[1] state that "black carbon (BC, the absorbing component of soot) produced by the incomplete combustion of biomass, coal and diesel fuels can significantly contribute to climate change by altering the Earth's radiative balance," noting that "BC is estimated to have 55% of the radiative forcing effect of CO2 (Ramanathan and Carmichael, 2008)," which is in line with the approximately 1 Wm-2 radiative forcing of black carbon reported by Hansen (2002)[2]. Nevertheless, and in spite of these facts, Kaspari et al. note that BC still remains "one of the largest sources of uncertainty in analyses of climate change."

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As the air's CO2 content rises, most plants exhibit increased rates of photosynthesis and biomass production (see our Plant Growth Database[1]), which should enhance the amount of food, fiber and timber production that can be utilized to feed, clothe and shelter earth's expanding human population. However, some individuals have suggested that the growth-promoting effects of atmospheric CO2 enrichment may be largely negated by the global warming that is predicted to occur in the near future by a number of state-of-the-art climate models, which outcome could compromise our ability to sustain a greater human population without increasing arable land acreage. Thus, we turn to the scientific literature to see if plants will - or will not - continue to exhibit CO2-induced growth increases under conditions of predicted future warming, which we do here by reviewing what has been learned about the photosynthetic and growth responses of CO2-enriched agricultural crops grown at both current and projected future growing-season temperatures.

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Atmospheric methane's contribution to anthropogenic climate forcing is estimated to be about half that of CO2 when both direct and indirect components to its forcing are summed (see Figure 1, below); and nearly all models project atmospheric methane (CH4) concentrations will increase for at least the next 3 decades, with many of the scenarios assuming a much larger increase throughout the 21st century. A quick fact-check, however, reveals that observations lie far below the model projections, as shown in each of the four prior Assessment Reports of the IPCC. So what has caused the IPCC to get things so wrong?

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We begin this review of the Sun's influence on European temperatures with the study of Holzhauser et al. (2005)[1], who presented high-resolution records of variations in glacier size in the Swiss Alps together with lake-level fluctuations in the Jura mountains, the northern French Pre-Alps, and the Swiss Plateau in developing a 3,500-year climate history of west-central Europe, starting with an in-depth analysis of the Great Aletsch glacier, which is the largest of all glaciers located in the European Alps.

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