News

Climate change has new FACE

[ The University of Melbourne Voice Vol. 1, No. 20  10 December - 4 February 2008 ]

By Nerissa Hannink

The University of Melbourne is a partner in a new $3.7m research facility which uses state-of-the-art technology to simulate elevated carbon dioxide (CO2) levels to help predict the impact of climate change on crops.

The Free Air Carbon Dioxide Enrichment (FACE) facility, opened at the Grains Innovation Park in Horsham recently by Minister for Agriculture Joe Helper, studies the effects of CO2 levels on plant growth and crop productivity.

Researchers are investigating how the rise of CO2 in the atmosphere – while a major contributor to climate change – may have the potential to increase plant growth and thus crop productivity.

Under controlled conditions plants initially grow faster when exposed to increased carbon dioxide – known as the CO2 fertilisation effect – but FACE looks at how this translates to crops in the field.

FACE scientists use cutting-edge equipment, including computer controlled gas release systems, to expose naturally grown wheat crops to controlled levels of CO2.

University of Melbourne crop scientist and project leader, Dr Rob Norton, based at Horsham, says FACE experiments provide information that increases the accuracy of existing crop models.

”FACE is the only available technology able to elevate CO2 while still growing the crop under essentially field conditions,” he says.

“Using FACE we’re able to test the impact of higher CO2 levels against the other factors in plant growth to identify the opportunities presented by climate change.

“The CO2 fertiliser effect occurs when the increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere provides extra carbon to plants for photosynthesis. This increases initial growth in terrestrial (land) plants.

“Another benefit is that CO2 increases water efficiency, decreasing the amount of water that plants lose through their leaves.”

Dr Norton says that the impact of the CO2 fertiliser effect is likely to depend on its interaction with rainfall and temperature, although we do know that water use efficiency should increase under higher atmospheric CO2 levels.

Australian grains industry production is worth more than $7 billion a year with major exports of wheat, barley and canola going to markets in Asia, the Middle East and Europe.