ALL THE SHRUBS, vines, and trees that surround you play a critical part in pulling excess carbon out of the atmosphere, and a new study argues that plants are, to date, helping absorb excess carbon emissions.

But at some point plants will get their fill of carbon, and the climate changehelping hand they’ve extended will begin to recede. Exactly when that will happen is a question that scientists are racing to answer.

Since the Industrial Revolution began in the early 20th century, the amount of carbon in the atmosphere caused by human activity has rapidly increased. Using computer models, the study’s authors concluded that photosynthesis has increased by 30 percent.

“It’s kind of a silver lining in an otherwise stormy sky,” says Lucas Cernusak, a study author and ecoyphysiologist from James Cook University in Australia.

The study was published in the journal Trends in…