Elevated CO2 facilitates C and N accumulation in a rice paddy ecosystem
Jia Guo , Mingqian Zhang , Xiaowen Wang
,
Weijian Zhang
DOI:10.1016/j.jes.2014.05.055
Received April 02, 2014,Revised May 26, 2014, Accepted , Available online March 13, 2015
Volume 27,2015,Pages 27-33
Elevated CO2 can stimulate wetland carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) exports through gaseous and dissolved pathways, however, the consequent influences on the C and N pools are still not fully known. Therefore, we set up a free-air CO2 enrichment experiment in a paddy field in Eastern China. After five year fumigation, we studied C and N in the plant-water-soil system. The results showed: (1) elevated CO2 stimulated rice aboveground biomass and N accumulations by 19.1% and 12.5%, respectively. (2) Elevated CO2 significantly increased paddy soil TOC and TN contents by 12.5% and 15.5%, respectively in the 0-15 cm layer, and 22.7% and 26.0% in the 15-30 cm soil layer. (3) Averaged across the rice growing period, elevated CO2 greatly increased TOC and TN contents in the surface water by 7.6% and 11.4%, respectively. (4) The TOC/TN ratio and natural δ15N value in the surface soil showed a decreasing trend under elevated CO2. The above results indicate that elevated CO2 can benefit C and N accumulation in paddy fields. Given the similarity between the paddies and natural wetlands, our results also suggest a great potential for long-term C and N accumulation in natural wetlands under future climate patterns.
