Elevated CO2 and temperature strongly affect crop production, but understanding of the crop response to combined CO2 and temperature increases under field conditions is still limited while data are scarce. We grew wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and rice (Oryza sativa L.) under two levels of CO2 (ambient and enriched up to 500 μmol mol(-1) ) and two levels of canopy temperature (ambient and increased by 1.5-2.0 °C) in free-air CO2 enrichment (FACE) systems and carried out a detailed growth and yield component analysis during two growing seasons for both crops. An increase in CO2 resulted in higher grain yield, whereas an increase in temperature reduced grain yield, in both crops. An increase in CO2 was unable to compensate for the negative impact of an increase in temperature on biomass and yield of wheat and rice. Yields of wheat and rice were decreased by 10-12% and 17-35%, respectively, under the combination of elevated CO2 and temperature. The number of filled grains per unit area was the most important yield component accounting for the effects of elevated CO2 and temperature in wheat and rice. Our data showed complex treatment effects on the interplay between preheading duration, nitrogen uptake, tillering, leaf area index, and radiation-use efficiency, and thus on yield components and yield. Nitrogen uptake before heading was crucial in minimizing yield loss due to climate change in both crops. For rice, however, a breeding strategy to increase grain number per m(2) and % filled grains (or to reduce spikelet sterility) at high temperature is also required to prevent yield reduction under conditions of global change.

In forest ecosystems, the effects of litter or understory on soil properties are far from being fully understood. We conducted a study in a pure Acacia mangium Willd. plantation in southern China, by removing litter or understory or both components and then comparing these treatments with a control (undisturbed), to evaluate their respective effects on soil physical, chemical and biological properties. In addition, a litter decomposition experiment was conducted to understand the effects of understory on litter decomposition. Our data showed that the presence of understory favored litter decomposition to a large extent. In 1 year, 75.2 and 37.

Seed priming with silicon (Si) is an efficient and easy method to regulate plant tolerance against different abiotic stresses. A pot experiment was conducted to examine the Si-mediated changes in oxidative defense and some vital physio-biochemical parameters of maize under a limited water supply. For this purpose, two maize varieties (Pearl and Malka) with different Si priming treatments (0, 4 mM, 6 mM) were grown under a control and 60% field capacity for three weeks. At 60% field capacity, significant reductions in plant growth attributes and chlorophyll contents were recorded compared with the control. The negative effects of drought stress were more severe for Malka compared with Pearl. Drought stress increased the malondialdehyde (MDA) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) contents, altered the activities of antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), and catalase (CAT)), and triggered the accumulation of soluble sugars, glycine betaine, proline, and phenolics contents. Nevertheless, seed priming with silicon at 4 or 6 mM was effective in alleviating the detrimental effects of drought stress in both cultivars. Si priming particularly at 6 mM significantly enhanced the shoot and root lengths as well as their biomass and improved the levels of photosynthetic pigments. Moreover, Si treatments enhanced the activities of antioxidant enzymes (SOD, POD, and CAT) while it reduced the MDA and H2O2 contents in both cultivars under stress conditions. In crux, the present investigation suggests that Si priming mitigates the harmful effects of drought stress and contributes to the recovery of maize growth.