Photosynthesis research under climate change

Ethiopia’s economy is dominated by agriculture which is mainly rain-fed and subsistence. Climate change is expected to have an adverse impact particularly on crop production. Previous studies have shown large discrepancies in the magnitude and sometimes in the direction of the impact on crop production. We assessed the impact of climate change on growth and yield of maize and wheat in Ethiopia using a multi-crop model ensemble. The multi-model ensemble (n = 48) was set up using the agroecosystem modelling framework Expert-N. The framework is modular which facilitates combining different submodels for plant growth and soil processes. The multi-model ensemble was driven by climate change projections representing the mid of the century (2021–2050) from ten contrasting climate models downscaled to finer resolution. The contributions of different sources of uncertainty in crop yield prediction were quantified. The sensitivity of crop yield to elevated CO2, increased temperature, changes in precipitations and N fertilizer were also assessed. Our results indicate that grain yields were very sensitive to changes in [CO2], temperature and N fertilizer amounts where the responses were higher for wheat than maize. The response to change in precipitation was weak, which we attribute to the high water holding capacity of the soils due to high organic carbon contents at the study sites. This may provide the sufficient buffering capacity for extended time periods with low amounts of precipitation. Under the changing climate, wheat productivity will be a major challenge with a 36 to 40% reduction in grain yield by 2050 while the impact on maize was modest. A major part of the uncertainty in the projected impact could be attributed to differences in the crop growth models. A considerable fraction of the uncertainty could also be traced back to different soil water dynamics modeling approaches in the model ensemble, which is often ignored. Uncertainties varied among the studied crop species and cultivars as well. The study highlights significant impacts of climate change on wheat yield in Ethiopia whereby differences in crop growth models causes the large part of the uncertainties.

show abstract

“…and hence crop yield [80]. The present study highlights the negative effects of increasing temperature on grain yield.…”

Section: Plos Onementioning

confidence: 51%

Climate change impact on wheat and maize growth in Ethiopia: A multi-model uncertainty analysis

et al. 2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Photosynthesis is influenced by multiple environmental factors, including high temperature, drought, salinity, high and fluctuating light, mineral nutrition, and CO 2 concentration (Brestic et al 2018;Ferroni et al 2020;Ibrahimova et al 2021;Li et al 2021). The question of how plants grow under changes in these environmental conditions and how photosynthesis optimization occurs are some of the most important and interesting questions in studying plant growth, for if we are able to quantify the optimal environmental conditions that maximize photosynthesis, they can be employed in controlled environments to increase crop productivity (Aliyeva et al 2020;Hussain et al 2021;Mishra et al 2021;Yan et al 2021). We want to improve the structural and functional properties of the photosynthetic apparatus so that modern varieties are more efficient and effective in the use of water and mineral nutrition resources and more tolerant to environmental changes.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Crop photosynthesis for the twenty-first century

Brestič

Yang

et al. 2021

Photosynth Res

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…The light-dependent phase of photosynthesis is not flawlessly in terms of energy efficiency [16,17]. The vast majority of the available energy is re-emitted as heat or fluorescence due to specific bottlenecks in the very ability of the photosynthetic apparatus to absorb energy [18,19].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The vast majority of the available energy is re-emitted as heat or fluorescence due to specific bottlenecks in the very ability of the photosynthetic apparatus to absorb energy [18,19]. Improving the photosynthesis process itself and minimizing energy losses is essential for global food production in the currently changing climate [16]. A high temperature, often accompanied by high-light stress, quickly damages the photosynthetic apparatus [20,21].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Attempts are made to increase the efficiency and stability of the photosynthesis process in plants and algae. Thanks to genetic engineering methods, it is possible to silence or overexpress genes of individual components of the photosynthetic system [16], such as increasing the number or size of external antennas that absorb light photons [17]. It does not always have to be a direct change, for example, the manipulation of CAO (chlorophyllide a oxygenase) activity-an enzyme involved in the synthesis of chlorophyll b leads to modification of the size and number of LHCII antennas as Chlb is their main component [17,27].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The Arabidopsis Accessions Selection Is Crucial: Insight from Photosynthetic Studies

Wójtowicz

Gieczewska

2021

IJMS

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Natural genetic variation in photosynthesis is strictly associated with the remarkable adaptive plasticity observed amongst Arabidopsis thaliana accessions derived from environmentally distinct regions. Exploration of the characteristic features of the photosynthetic machinery could reveal the regulatory mechanisms underlying those traits. In this study, we performed a detailed characterisation and comparison of photosynthesis performance and spectral properties of the photosynthetic apparatus in the following selected Arabidopsis thaliana accessions commonly used in laboratories as background lines: Col-0, Col-1, Col-2, Col-8, Ler-0, and Ws-2. The main focus was to distinguish the characteristic disparities for every accession in photosynthetic efficiency that could be accountable for their remarkable plasticity to adapt. The biophysical and biochemical analysis of the thylakoid membranes in control conditions revealed differences in lipid-to-protein contribution, Chlorophyll-to-Carotenoid ratio (Chl/Car), and xanthophyll cycle pigment distribution among accessions. We presented that such changes led to disparities in the arrangement of the Chlorophyll-Protein complexes, the PSI/PSII ratio, and the lateral mobility of the thylakoid membrane, with the most significant aberrations detected in the Ler-0 and Ws-2 accessions. We concluded that selecting an accession suitable for specific research on the photosynthetic process is essential for optimising the experiment.

show abstract

Photosynthesis research under climate change

Cited by 99 publications

References 162 publications

Climate change impact on wheat and maize growth in Ethiopia: A multi-model uncertainty analysis

Climate change impact on wheat and maize growth in Ethiopia: A multi-model uncertainty analysis

Crop photosynthesis for the twenty-first century

The Arabidopsis Accessions Selection Is Crucial: Insight from Photosynthetic Studies

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About