Abstract:
Elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO
2) concentration increases plant photosynthesis while elevated tropospheric ozone (O
3) concentration could have the opposite effect. The interactive effects of the two gaseous processes have remained largely unclear. By using a new sola-illuminated gas fumigation platform, an Indica hybrid rice cultivar 'Shanyou 63' was exposed to these gases in four gas treatments. The treatments included the control (real time ambient CO
2/O
3 condition), elevated CO
2 (CO
2) (200 μmol·mol
-1 above ambient CO
2), elevated O
3 (O
3) (60% higher than ambient value) and combined elevated CO
2+O
3 (CO
2+O
3). Photosynthesis of rice grown in the chambers was determined at jointing stage, heading stage and filling stage, respectively. Over the growing season, the target achievement ratios of CO
2 and O
3 concentrations were 1.04, 1.00, respectively. Compared with the control, CO
2 increased net photosynthetic rate (
Pn) of rice by 15%, 11% and 28% at jointing, heading and grain-filling stages, respectively. However, O
3 decreased Pn by 32%, 32% and 88% at the respective growth stages. Compared with the control, leaf
Pn was not altered by the CO
2+O
3 treatment at jointing and heading stages, but was 48% lower during grain-filling stage. CO
2 significantly decreased stomatal conductance (
Gs) and transpiration rate (
Tr) at jointing and heading stages, but the two variables remained unaffected at grain-filling stage. The magnitude of O
3 effect on
Gs and
Tr was larger than that of CO
2, with the highest effect of O
3 detected during grain filling. The effects of CO
2+O
3 treatment on
Gs and
Tr were generally smaller than those of individual O
3 treatment. Compared with the control, intercellular CO
2 concentration (Ci) in rice substantially increased with CO
2 or CO
2+O
3 treatment while limited response of
Ci was observed in individual O
3 treatments. Leaf water use efficiency (
WUE) increased with CO
2 treatment, while reverse trend was noted under O
3, especially during filling stage. CO
2+O
3 increased leaf
WUE by about 15% at jointing and heading stages, while the reverse trend was noted in the late season, due mainly to cumulative O
3 damage. The above findings suggested that the projected rise of atmospheric CO
2 level increased the photosynthetic capacity, while the elevated tropospheric O
3 concentration decreased it at a progressive severity over the growing season. The concurrent increases in CO
2 and O
3 ameliorated the severity of deleterious effects of O
3 on leaf photosynthesis of 'Shanyou 63'.