Increasing atmospheric CO 2 may lead to global warming and other climate changes. By the processes of photosynthesis and respiration, CO 2 is exchanged between the atmosphere and the land where it is sequestered as wood and other organic forms in the soil. Elevated CO 2 also increases productivity particularly in desert ecosystems.
Information is needed on the exchange process in order to predict climate change.
These questions will be answered by using FACE technology in the NDFF's experiment. Six other plots remain at the current level. This experimental design provides a large area in which integrated teams of scientists can describe and quantify processes regulating carbon, nutrient, and water balances in desert ecosystems. Rise of carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere in the last 40 years.