NASA study refutes claims of drought-driven declines in plant productivity, global food security

Publish Date: August 25, 2011
Article Source: Boston University press release
Article Link: www.aer.com/news-events/in-the-news/2011/nasa-study-refutes-claims-drought-driven-declines-plant-productivity-global-

AER scientist Arindam Samanta is the lead author of a comprehensive study published in Science (August 26, 2011) refuting earlier claims "that drought has induced a decline in global plant productivity during the past decade and potentially posed a threat to global food security."

"Their model has been tuned to predict lower productivity even for very small increases in temperature. Not surprisingly, their results were preordained," said Arindam Samanta, the study's lead author.

Samanta is now at Atmospheric and Environmental Research Inc., in Lexington, MA. He worked on the study as a graduate student at Boston University's Department of Geography and Environment. The international team of scientists included scientists at Boston University in the US and the Universities of Viçosa and Campinas in Brazil.

Read the Boston University press release: NASA study refutes claims of drought-driven declines in plant productivity, global food security

Read the research published in Science: Comment on “Drought-Induced Reduction in Global Terrestrial Net Primary Production from 2000 Through 2009”.