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A greening Earth has reversed the trend of decreasing carbonate weathering under a warming climate

Author

Listed:
  • Sibo Zeng

    (Chongqing Key Laboratory of Karst Environment & School of Geographical Sciences of Southwest University)

  • Zaihua Liu

    (Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS)
    CAS Center for Excellence in Quaternary Science and Global Change)

  • Yongjun Jiang

    (Chongqing Key Laboratory of Karst Environment & School of Geographical Sciences of Southwest University)

  • Nico Goldscheider

    (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT))

  • Yan Yang

    (Chongqing Key Laboratory of Karst Environment & School of Geographical Sciences of Southwest University)

  • Min Zhao

    (Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS))

  • Hailong Sun

    (Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS))

  • Haibo He

    (Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS))

  • Mingyu Shao

    (Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS))

  • Liangxing Shi

    (Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS))

Abstract

The response of mineral weathering and its related Weathering Sink for atmospheric CO2 (WSatm-CO2) to global vegetation greening are not well understood. After applying different biogeochemical models and a field experiment to investigate the influence of vegetation greening and warming on the variations of carbonate weathering and WSatm-CO2 on regional and global scales, here we show a significant positive relationship between global carbonate weathering intensity ([HCO3−] as a proxy) and vegetation greenness. During 1982–2018, under a warming climate, [HCO3−] and WSatm-CO2 increase by 5.8% and 6.1%, respectively, due to vegetation greening, in the carbonate areas of Southwest China. Meanwhile, the [HCO3−] in global carbonate areas increases by +2.4% during the same period. By contrast, the [HCO3−] in global carbonate areas decreases by −1.3% without a vegetation function due to the warming. Moreover, we estimated that the carbonate weathering enhancements due to vegetation restoration at the global scale could reach 43.8%. Our results demonstrate that future vegetation restoration is important for the carbon capture by mineral weathering.

Suggested Citation

  • Sibo Zeng & Zaihua Liu & Yongjun Jiang & Nico Goldscheider & Yan Yang & Min Zhao & Hailong Sun & Haibo He & Mingyu Shao & Liangxing Shi, 2025. "A greening Earth has reversed the trend of decreasing carbonate weathering under a warming climate," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 16(1), pages 1-13, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:16:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-025-57899-z
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-57899-z
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    References listed on IDEAS

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