Mihály MŐCSÉNYI
The carbon-dioxide syndrome (1.)

(Summary)

92-94% of the organic material produced by most plant species comes from the air (carbon, oxygen), 6-7% from water (hydrogen) and only 0,5-1,5% from the soil. If the CO₂ content of the air is increased the intensity of photosynthesis of C3-type plants rises significantly. Since the industrial revolution the carbondioxide-content of the airspace has risen constantly.

The CO₂ conversion ability of agricultural plants in terms of production surface has risen to fifty- or hundredfold by plant selection -breeding and agro-technical development resulting in the better utilisation of atmospheric fertilising. Before the age of atmospheric fertilisation the increase of food production could be achieved only by the expansion of the productive surface, through deforestation and drainage i. e. by causing harm to the landscape. Plant cultivation utilising atmospheric fertilisation caused over-production and excessive surplus in the productive agricultural surface in the economically developed states and so it brings the possibility of landscape rehabilitation, the improvement of aesthetic values by afforestation and the increase of surfaces covered by water.