Garden with Success in a Changing Climate

Our planet is changing. Increased levels of carbon dioxide (CO₂) in our atmosphere and rising global mean temperatures will definitely bring changes for gardeners. However, in the short term, you can prepare for and manage these changes.

To adapt to climate change, you have to understand it. For gardeners, atmospheric CO levels and the global mean temperature, or the average of temperatures all over the globe, are the most relevant data. In the million years prior to the Industrial Revolution, the average level of atmospheric CO was 280 parts per million (ppm), as determined by ice core samples and marine sediment testing. CO levels climbed past 300 ppm in the early 20th century and continued to rise. When scientists at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii began recording levels of atmospheric CO in 1958, their readings averaged 315 ppm, with peaks about 4 ppm above average in May, and valleys about 4 ppm below average in November. By 2015, the average level of CO in our air reached 400 ppm. In 2019, the average was 415 ppm. So, there’s now roughly 50 percent more CO in our atmosphere than there