Does elevated CO2 enhance the arsenic uptake by rice? Yes or maybe: Evidences from FACE experiments.

Elevated CO2 (eCO2) strongly affects rice yield and quality in arsenic (As) paddy soils. However, understanding of the As accumulation in rice under coupled stress of eCO2 and soil As is still limited while data are scarce. It greatly limits the prediction for future rice safety. This study investigated the As uptake by rice grown in different As paddy soils under two CO2 conditions (ambient and ambient +200 µmol mol-1) in the free-air CO2 enrichment (FACE) system. Results showed that eCO2 lowered soil Eh at the tillering stage and caused higher concentrations of dissolved As and Fe2+ in soil pore water. Compared with the control, the increased As transfer abilities in rice straws under eCO2 contributed to the higher As accumulation in rice grains, and their total As concentrations were increased by 10.3-31.2%. Besides, the increased amounts of iron plaque (IP) under eCO2 failed to effectively inhibit the As uptake by rice due to the difference in critical stage between As immobilized by IP (mainly in maturing stage) and uptake by rice roots (about 50% contribution before filling stage). Risk assessments suggest that eCO2 enhanced the human health risks of As intake from rice grains produced in low-As paddy soils (<30 mg kg-1). In order to alleviate the As threats to rice under eCO2, we consider that proper soil drainage before filling stage to improve soil Eh can serve as an effective way to reduce As uptake by rice. Pursuing appropriate rice varieties to reduce the As transfer ability may be the other positive strategy.

Elevated CO2 and temperature under future climate change increase severity of rice sheath blight.

Sheath blight (ShB), caused by Rhizoctonia solani, is one of the major threats to rice (Oryza sativa L.) production. However, it is not clear how the risk of rice ShB will respond to elevated CO2 and temperature under future climate change. Here, we conducted, field experiments of inoculated R. solani under combinations of two CO2 levels (ambient and enriched up to 590 µmol mol-1) and two temperature levels (ambient and increased by 2.0°C) in temperature by free-air CO2 enrichment (T-FACE) system for two cultivars (a susceptible cultivar, Lemont and a resistant cultivar, YSBR1). Results indicate that for the inoculation of plants with R. solani, the vertical length of ShB lesions for cv. Lemont was significantly longer than that for cv. YSBR1 under four CO2 and temperature treatments. The vertical length of ShB lesions was significantly increased by elevated temperature, but not by elevated CO2, for both cultivars. The vertical length of ShB lesions under the combination of elevated CO2 and elevated temperature was increased by 21-38% for cv. Lemont and by -1-6% for cv. YSBR1. A significant increase in MDA level was related to a significant increase in the vertical length of ShB lesions under the combination of elevated CO2 and elevated temperature. Elevated CO2 could not compensate for the negative effect of elevated temperature on yield of both cultivars under future climate change. Rice yield and biomass were further decreased by 2.0-2.5% and 2.9-4.2% by an increase in the severity of ShB under the combination of elevated CO2 and elevated temperature. Thus, reasonable agronomic management practices are required to improve both resistance to ShB disease and grain yield for rice under future climate change.