New research indicates that plants and other complex organisms may survive on Earth for an additional 500 million years beyond previous estimates as the Sun expands.
Researchers Jacob Haqq-Misra and Eric Wolf ran updated climate simulations that account for more efficient forms of photosynthesis used by plants such as cacti and pineapples. These models suggest vegetation could continue until atmospheric carbon dioxide falls to roughly 1 part per million, pushing the end of the complex biosphere past 1.8 billion years from now.
Previous studies had placed the cutoff at about 1.35 billion years when carbon dioxide levels reached 10 parts per million. The new work shows that the planet’s natural temperature regulation through the greenhouse effect could sustain plant life for longer under gradually rising solar output.
Haqq-Misra noted that life on Earth can adapt more than earlier projections assumed. Colleague Edward Schwieterman added that the findings place humanity closer to the start than the end of the complex biosphere era and improve prospects for detecting similar conditions on other worlds.