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Warming offsets the benefits of elevated CO2 in water relations while amplifies elevated CO2-induced reduction in forage nutritional value in the C-4 grass Megathyrsus maximus

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Author(s):
Habermann, Eduardo ; de Oliveira, Eduardo Augusto Dias ; Contin, Daniele Ribeiro ; Costa, Joao Vitor Campos Pinho ; Costa, Katia Aparecida de Pinho ; Martinez, Carlos Alberto
Total Authors: 6
Document type: Journal article
Source: FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE; v. 13, p. 15-pg., 2022-12-05.
Abstract

Tropical grasslands are very important to global carbon and water cycles. C-4 plants have increased heat tolerance and a CO2 concentrating mechanism that often reduces responses to elevated concentrations of CO2 ([CO2]). Despite the importance of tropical grasslands, there is a scarcity of studies that elucidate how managed tropical grasslands will be affected by elevated [CO2] and warming. In our study, we used a combination of a temperature-free air-controlled enhancement (T-FACE) and a free-air carbon dioxide enrichment (FACE) systems to increase canopy temperature and [CO2] under field conditions, respectively. We warmed a field-grown pasture dominated by the C-4 tropical forage grass Megathyrsus maximus by 2 degrees C above ambient under two levels of [CO2] (ambient (aC) and elevated (eC - 600 ppm) to investigate how these two factors isolated or combined regulate water relations through stomatal regulation, and how this combination affects PSII functioning, biochemistry, forage nutritive value, and digestibility. We demonstrated that the effects of warming negated the effects of eC in plant transpiration, water potential, proline content, and soil moisture conservation, resulting in warming canceling the eCO(2)-induced improvement in these parameters. Furthermore, there were additive effects between eC and warming for chlorophyll fluorescence parameters and aboveground nutritive value. Warming sharply intensified the eCO(2)-induced decrease in crude protein content and increases in forage fibrous fraction and lignin, resulting in a smaller forage digestibility under a warmer CO2-enriched atmosphere. Our results highlight the importance of multifactorial studies when investigating global change impacts on managed ecosystems and the potential consequences for the global carbon cycle like amplification in methane emissions by ruminants and feeding a positive climate feedback system. (AU)

FAPESP's process: 08/58075-8 - Miniface climate-change impact experiment to analyze the effects of elevated CO2 and warming on photosynthesis, gene expression, biochemistry, growth, nutrient dynamics and yield of two contrasting tropical forage species
Grantee:Carlos Alberto Martinez y Huaman
Support Opportunities: Research Program on Global Climate Change - Thematic Grants
FAPESP's process: 16/09742-8 - Water relations, gas exchange, leaf anatomy and thermographic analysis of two forage species under warming and drought stress at field conditions
Grantee:Eduardo Habermann
Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
FAPESP's process: 14/26821-3 - Comparative analysis of water relations in C3 and C4 forage species subjected to higher CO2 and warming in TROP-T-FACE system
Grantee:Eduardo Habermann
Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
FAPESP's process: 14/00317-7 - Flux of carbon and greenhouse gases in a pasture ecosystem constituted by Panicum maximum Jacq. and Stylosanthes capitata Voegel cultivated under elevated CO2 and warming in a FACE/T-FACE system
Grantee:Eduardo Augusto Dias de Oliveira
Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral