Some plants in tropical forests have stopped undergoing photosynthesis due to global warming, scientists say

August 23, 2023, 11:02 AMPicture Alliance via Getty Images

Climate change has caused the leaves on some plants in tropical forests to stop undergoing photosynthesis -- the process in which plants and other organisms use sunlight to synthesize foods from carbon dioxide and water, according to a study published Wednesday in"When leaves reach a certain temperature, their photosynthetic machinery breaks down," Gregory Goldsmith, a professor of biology at Chapman University in Orange, California, told reporters.

Researchers used high-resolution measurements taken from an instrument on board the International Space Station between 2018 and 2020. They also placed sensors on top of tree canopies in places like Brazil, Puerto Rico and Australia to estimate peak tropical-forest canopy temperatures.Dado Galdieri/Bloomberg via Getty Images

The data shows that canopy temperatures peaked at around 34 degrees Celsius -- or 93.2 degrees Fahrenheit -- on average, although a small proportion of those observed exceeded 40 degrees Celsius, or 104 degrees Fahrenheit.Researchers are "just starting to see" these temperatures light up throughout forests, Joshua Fisher, a climate scientist with a focus on terrestrial ecosystems at Chapman University, told reporters at Monday's news conference.

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