Can there be an equilibrium between humanity's increase of carbon dioxide output with plants since plants harness CO2?

Question

Is it possible that, prior to hitting a thermal equilibrium in the atmosphere, the increase in CO2 that humanity puts out every year will come to an equilibrium due to the consumption by the world's plants, which may respond by growing, reproducing and feeding more off of the additional CO2 in the atmosphere at a faster rate?

Answer 1

This is an interesting question discussed frequently in today's political climate. Unfortunately, it is based on an over-simplification of photosynthesis. We are told that animals consume oxygen and produce CO2, while plants consume CO2 and produce oxygen. While this is technically true, it is not complete. Plants do perform this conversion in the upper parts of the plant during the light-dependent portions of photosynthesis and the Krebs cycle, those same plants transfer the products to the roots, where the conversion is reversed at night, consuming oxygen and returning CO2 to the atmosphere. There is a fractional net gain of oxygen in the process as a whole, it is not as simple as we are often led to believe. This can best be observed in smaller isolated bodies of water where both fish and plants are found. It is often necessary to artificially aerate the water only at night, thus increasing passive gas exchange between the water and the surrounding air, to prevent fish from suffocating overnight, when aquatic plants compete with the fish for the plummeting oxygen levels that are plentiful during the day.