Photosynthetic responses to increased CO2 and air pollutants

After centuries of relatively stable atmospheric composition, the Industrial Revolution has driven a need for plants to cope with a changing atmosphere. However plants not only passively undergo global climatic changes but are also driving factors that may influence the course of climatic change. This is particularly true for trees and forests as they play a significant role in the global carbon cycle and in the control of carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere. The scientific community has therefore sought to assess and quantify both the response and the contribution of the ecosystems and particularly of the forest ones to the increase of CO2 and air pollutants. If the studies on the impact of climate change on forests have environmental understanding as the main objective, the studies on crops have yield and quality of the products as main goals. In some cases, such as tree crops commonly planted for bioenergy, these objectives can merge and the great challenge becomes maximizing future production in a changing climate, while minimizing depletion of soil and water resources.