Fast growing: CO2 (carbonic acid) uptake through roots?

[lucasjensen]

I have heard that plants can take up dissolved CO2 in water (carbonic acid) by means of their roots. In other words if you water your plants with sparkling water it should accelerate growing. Can somebody verify that statement and maybe tell me which plants are especially suitable for this? I'm especially interested in trees having this feature. How much can the growing be accelerated?

Thank you in advance,

Lucas Jensen

[Snooze]

I can't imagine it would produce any significant differences. in growth rates, in using carbonated water vs. municipal water.

The dissolved carbon dioxide in the water quickly bubbles out of the solution, this is accelerated when smaller bubbles can form on a rough surface, such as an ice cube, salt crystals or soil. So pouring carbonated water on the ground would cause it to quickly foam up, and escape. The small amount of CO2 and carbonic acid that remains dissolved in the water, is so insignificant, it wouldn't matter.

Fortunately a hypothesis of "does carbonated water accelerate plant growth?" is easy to test. Take 3 small pots, fill them with soil and 2 sweet peas. Mark the pots as "seltzer", "flat" and "tap", then water all 3 of them with equal amounts of seltzer water, flat seltzer water and tap water. After a month you should have enough evidence to suggest if there is a difference or not.

Let us know what the results of this experiment is.

-S

[John McGaw]

I cannot say for "regular" plants but for aquarium plants increasing the dissolved CO2 definitely boosts growth. You can purchase automatic dosing systems from several makers that handle the job. Of course with an aquarium one must balance out the needs of the fish and the plants pretty carefully to keep from killing one or the other (although I've managed to do both on occasion).

[Snooze]

CO2 systems for aquariums are a different game. They provide a steady stream of CO2 from a yeast pile or a compressed air tank. Watering with carbonated water isn't likely to have the same effect.

-S

[John A. Keslick, Jr.]

Carbonic acid is mentioned here:

here for starters:

John A. Keslick, Jr. Beware of so-called TREE EXPERTS who do not understand TREE BIOLOGY!