Plant developmental responses to climate change

Free-air CO2 enrichment (FACE) allows open-air elevation of [CO2] without altering the microclimate. Its scale uniquely supports simultaneous study from physiology and yield to soil processes and disease. In 2005 we summarized results of then 28 published observations by meta-analysis. Subsequent studies have combined FACE with temperature, drought, ozone, and nitrogen treatments. Here, we summarize the results of now almost 250 observations, spanning 14 sites and five continents. Across 186 independent studies of 18 C3 crops, elevation of [CO2] by ca. 200 ppm caused a ca. 18% increase in yield under non-stress conditions. Legumes and root crops showed a greater increase and cereals less. Nitrogen deficiency reduced the average increase to 10%, as did warming by ca. 2°C. Two conclusions of the 2005 analysis were that C4 crops would not be more productive in elevated [CO2], except under drought, and that yield responses of C3 crops were diminished by nitrogen deficiency and wet conditions. Both stand the test of time. Further studies of maize and sorghum showed no yield increase, except in drought, while soybean productivity was negatively affected by early growing season wet conditions. Subsequent study showed reduced levels of nutrients, notably Zn and Fe in most crops, and lower nitrogen and protein in the seeds of non-leguminous crops. Testing across crop germplasm revealed sufficient variation to maintain nutrient content under rising [CO2]. A strong correlation of yield response under elevated [CO2] to genetic yield potential in both rice and soybean was observed. Rice cultivars with the highest yield potential showed a 35% yield increase in elevated [CO2] compared to an average of 14%. Future FACE experiments have the potential to develop cultivars and management strategies for co-promoting sustainability and productivity under future elevated [CO2].

30 years of free-air carbon dioxide enrichment (FACE): What have we learned about future crop productivity and its potential for adaptation?

Stimulation of C3 crop yield by rising concentrations of atmospheric carbon dioxide ([CO2]) is widely expected to counteract crop losses that are due to greater drought this century. But these expectations come from sparse field trials that have been biased towards mesic growth conditions. This eight-year study used precipitation manipulation and year-to-year variation in weather conditions at a unique open-air field facility to show that the stimulation of soybean yield by elevated [CO2] diminished to zero as drought intensified. Contrary to the prevalent expectation in the literature, rising [CO2] did not counteract the effect of strong drought on photosynthesis and yield because elevated [CO2] interacted with drought to modify stomatal function and canopy energy balance. This new insight from field experimentation under hot and dry conditions, which will become increasingly prevalent in the coming decades, highlights the likelihood of negative impacts from interacting global change factors on a key global commodity crop in its primary region of production.

Intensifying drought eliminates the expected benefits of elevated carbon dioxide for soybean.

The ratio of plant carbon gain to water use, known as water use efficiency (WUE), has long been recognized as a key constraint on crop production and an important target for crop improvement. WUE is a physiologically and genetically complex trait that can be defined at a range of scales. Many component traits directly influence WUE, including photosynthesis, stomatal and mesophyll conductances, and canopy structure. Interactions of carbon and water relations with diverse aspects of the environment and crop development also modulate WUE. As a consequence, enhancing WUE by breeding or biotechnology has proven challenging but not impossible. This review aims to synthesize new knowledge of WUE arising from advances in phenotyping, modeling, physiology, genetics, and molecular biology in the context of classical theoretical principles. In addition, we discuss how rising atmospheric CO2 concentration has created and will continue to create opportunities for enhancing WUE by modifying the trade-off between photosynthesis and transpiration.

Water Use Efficiency as a Constraint and Target for Improving the Resilience and Productivity of C3 and C4 Crops.

Crop Improvement from Phenotyping Roots: Highlights Reveal Expanding Opportunities.

TherateofN2 fixationbyaleguminousplantisaproductoftheactivityofindividualnodulesandthenumberof nodules.InitiationofnewnodulesandN2 fixationpernodulearehighlysensitivetoenvironmentalconditions.However,the effects of global environmental change on nodulation in the field are largely unknown. It is also unclear whether legumes regulatenodulationinresponsetoenvironmentsolelybyvaryingrootproductionoralsobyvaryingnoduledensityperunitof rootlength.Thisstudyutilisedminirhizotronimagingasanovelinsitumethodforassessingthenumber,sizeanddistribution of nodules in field-grown soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) exposed to elevated atmospheric CO2 ((CO2)) and reduced precipitation. We found that nodule numbers were 134-229% greater in soybeans grown at elevated (CO2) in combination with reduced precipitation, and this response was driven by greater nodule density per unit of root length. The benefits of additional nodules were probably offset by an unfavourable distribution of nodules in shallow, dry soil in reduced precipitation treatment under elevated (CO2) but not ambient (CO2). In fact, significant decreases in seed and leaf nitrogen concentration also occurred only in elevated (CO2) with reduced precipitation. This study demonstrates the potential of minirhizotron imaging to reveal previously uncharacterised changes in nodule production and distribution in response to global environmental change.

Minirhizotron imaging reveals that nodulation of field-grown soybean is enhanced by free-air CO2 enrichment only when combined with drought stress

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Minirhizotron imaging reveals that nodulation of field-grown soybean is enhanced by free-air CO2 enrichment only when combined with drought stress