Balancing trade-offs: Enhanced carbon assimilation and productivity with reduced nutritional value in a well-watered C pasture under a warmer CO-enriched atmosphere.

The concentration of atmospheric CO and temperature are pivotal components of ecosystem productivity, carbon balance, and food security. In this study, we investigated the impacts of a warmer climate (+2 °C above ambient temperature) and an atmosphere enriched with CO (600 ppm) on gas exchange, antioxidant enzymatic system, growth, nutritive value, and digestibility of a well-watered, managed pasture of Megathyrsus maximus, a tropical C forage grass, under field conditions. Elevated [CO] (eC) improved photosynthesis and reduced stomatal conductance, resulting in increased water use efficiency and plant C content.

Warming offsets the benefits of elevated CO in water relations while amplifies elevated CO-induced reduction in forage nutritional value in the C grass .

Tropical grasslands are very important to global carbon and water cycles. C plants have increased heat tolerance and a CO concentrating mechanism that often reduces responses to elevated concentrations of CO ([CO]). Despite the importance of tropical grasslands, there is a scarcity of studies that elucidate how managed tropical grasslands will be affected by elevated [CO] and warming.

Adjustments in photosynthetic pigments, PS II photochemistry and photoprotection in a tropical C4 forage plant exposed to warming and elevated [CO].

Global climate change will impact crops and grasslands, affecting growth and yield. However, is not clear how the combination of warming and increased atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations ([CO]) will affect the photosystem II (PSII) photochemistry and the photosynthetic tissue photoinhibition and photoprotection on tropical forages. Here, we evaluated the effects of elevated [CO] (∼600 μmol mol) and warming (+2 °C increase temperature) on the photochemistry of photosystem II and the photoprotection strategies of a tropical C4 forage Panicum maximum Jacq.

Future warming will change the chemical composition and leaf blade structure of tropical C and C forage species depending on soil moisture levels.

Temperature and soil moisture strongly affect the nutritional value and digestibility of forage plants through changes in leaf chemical composition or the proportion of leaf blade tissues. In this study, we aimed to evaluate leaf blade anatomical modifications of two tropical forage species, Stylosanthes capitata (C) and Megathyrsus maximus (C) under warmed conditions (+2 °C) at well-watered and rainfed conditions and investigate the interactions between leaf anatomical alterations, leaf chemical composition, and leaf digestibility. Experiments were conducted under field conditions using a Temperature-free air-controlled enhancement (T-FACE) system.

Correction: Increasing atmospheric CO2 and canopy temperature induces anatomical and physiological changes in leaves of the C4 forage species Panicum maximum.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

Stomatal Development and Conductance of a Tropical Forage Legume Are Regulated by Elevated [CO] Under Moderate Warming.

The opening and closing of stomata are controlled by the integration of environmental and endogenous signals. Here, we show the effects of combining elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration ( ; 600 μmol mol) and warming (+2°C) on stomatal properties and their consequence to plant function in a Vogel (C) tropical pasture. The treatment alone reduced stomatal density, stomatal index, and stomatal conductance ( ), resulting in reduced transpiration, increased leaf temperature, and leading to maintenance of soil moisture during the growing season.

Increasing atmospheric CO2 and canopy temperature induces anatomical and physiological changes in leaves of the C4 forage species Panicum maximum.

Changes in leaf anatomy and ultrastructure are associated with physiological performance in the context of plant adaptations to climate change. In this study, we investigated the isolated and combined effects of elevated atmospheric CO2 concentration ([CO2]) up to 600 μmol mol-1 (eC) and elevated temperature (eT) to 2°C more than the ambient canopy temperature on the ultrastructure, leaf anatomy, and physiology of Panicum maximum Jacq. grown under field conditions using combined free-air carbon dioxide enrichment (FACE) and temperature free-air controlled enhancement (T-FACE) systems.

Warming and water deficit impact leaf photosynthesis and decrease forage quality and digestibility of a C4 tropical grass.

Global warming is predicted to cause more intense extreme events such as heat waves, flooding and severe droughts, producing significant effects on agriculture. In tropics, climate change will severely impact livestock production affecting water availability, forage quality and food for cattle. We investigated the isolated and combined effects of soil water deficit (wS) and + 2°C increase in canopy temperature (eT) on leaf gas exchange, chlorophyll fluorescence, carbohydrate content, forage quality and in vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD) of a field-grown C4 tropical forage grass Panicum maximum Jacq.

Interspecific variation in vitamin E levels and the extent of lipid peroxidation in pioneer and non-pioneer species used in tropical forest restoration.

Reforestation projects have gained interest over recent years due to the loss of biodiversity in tropical regions as a result of large deforestation by anthropogenic actions. However, better knowledge on the tolerance of plant species to environmental stresses is needed for reforestation success. Here, we evaluated the photoprotective and antioxidant capacity, in terms of vitamin E accumulation, of five pioneer (Platypodium elegans Vogel, Schinus terebinthifolius Raddi, Lafoensia pacari A.