Carbon Emissions Helping to Make Earth Greener,June 5th,2013,NewScientist
碳排放能让地球更加绿色环保，新科学家科技杂志，2013年6月5日
The planet is getting lusher.
地球表面的植被正在变得越来越茂盛。
Carbon dioxide generated by human activity is stimulating photosynthesis and causing a beneficial greening of the Earth's surface.
由于人类活动而产生的二氧化碳刺激了光合作用，使得地球表面能产生拥有对人类有益的绿化效应。
Researchers claim to have shown that the increase in plant cover is due to this "CO2 fertilisation effect" rather than other causes.
研究人员声称，已经证实植被覆盖面积的增加主要是由于这种"二氧化碳施肥效应"，而不是其他的原因。
However,factors such as higher temperatures,extra rainfall,and an increase in atmospherics CO2 —which helps plants use water more efficiently—could all be boosting vegetation,so pinning down the cause has been difficult.
然而，较高的温度、额外的降雨和大气中二氧化碳的增加，都有助于植被更有效地利用水资源，这有利于植被的生长，所以很难确定具体的原因。
However,it remains unclear whether the effect can counter any negative consequences of global warming,such as the spread of deserts.
不过，目前还不清楚这种影响是否可以应对全球变暖所带来的任何负面的影响，例如沙漠的蔓延。
If C02 levels were constant,then the amount of vegetation per unit of rainfall ought to be constant,too.
如果二氧化碳的含量水平是稳定的，那么每单位雨量所供应的植被数量也应当是恒定的。
However,Randall Donohue of Australia's national research istitute monitored vegetation at the edges of deserts in Australia,southern Africa，the US Southwest,North Africa,the Middle East and central Asia.
但是澳大利亚国家研究机构的兰德尔·多诺霍对澳大利亚、北非、美国西南部、非洲南部、中东和中亚地区处于沙漠边缘的植被进行了监测，
He found that this figure rose by 11 per cent in these areas between 1982 and 2010， mirroring the rise in CO2.
他发现在1982年到2010年间，这个数字在这些地区上升了11%，这反映出了二氧化碳浓度的上升。
Donohue says this lends "strong support" to the idea that CO2 fertilisation drove the greening.
多诺霍说这使得丰富的二氧化碳促使绿化的观点得到了强有力的支持。
Climate change studies have predicted that many dry areas will get drier and that some deserts will expand，Donohue's findings make this less certain.
有关气候变化的研究预测：许多干旱地区将会变得更加干燥，沙漠的面积也将进一步扩大，但多诺霍的发现使得这一预测受到质疑。
However，Donohue cannot yet say to what extent CO2 fertilisation will affect vegetation in the coming decades. But if it proves to be significant, the future may be much greener.
然而,多诺霍尚不能言明在未来几十年二氧化碳浓度到达何种程度才会影响到植被。但是，如果这种影响被证明是显著的，未来的地球将会变得更加绿色环保。
