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2025 Vol.58, Issue 3 Preview Page

Short communication

Water use efficiency of rice plants under elevated CO2 and warming in two years with contrasting weather conditions
Nuri Baek1
,
Seo-Woo Park2
,
Eun-Seo Shin2
,
Jiyu Lee2
,
Hyun-Jin Park3
,
Han-Yong Kim4
,
Kwang-Sik Yoon5*
,
Woo-Jung Choi5*
1Doctoral Student, Department of Rural & Bio-systems Engineering (Brain Korea 21), Chonnam National University, Gwangju 61186, Korea
2Master Student, Department of Rural & Bio-systems Engineering (Brain Korea 21), Chonnam National University, Gwangju 61186, Korea
3Assistant Professor, Department of Rural & Bio-systems Engineering (Brain Korea 21), Chonnam National University, Gwangju 61186, Korea
4Professor, Department of Applied Plant Science, Chonnam National University, Gwangju 61186, Korea
5Professor, Department of Rural & Bio-systems Engineering (Brain Korea 21) & AgriBio Institute of Climate Change Management, Chonnam National University, Gwangju 61186, Korea
*Corresponding Author
31 August 2025. pp. 384-395
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Abstract

Water use efficiency (WUE) of rice (Oryza sativa L.) is a crucial factor to be considered in the management of water resources in paddy systems. This study investigated the changes in the WUE under elevated CO2 concentration (e[CO2]) and air temperature (eTair) for two years with naturally varying weather conditions including solar radiation. Rice was cultivated under different [CO2]-Tair in 2019 - 2020, with higher solar radiation during rice growing period in 2019 (2079 MJ m-2) than in 2020 (1929 MJ m-2). The WUE was calculated by analyzing the stable carbon isotope ratio (δ13C) of rice plant tissues. e[CO2] consistently increased WUE by > 80% in both years regardless of Tair. Under any given [CO2] and Tair combination, the WUE of rice plants was consistently 10 - 34% higher in 2020 than in 2019, suggesting that rice under lower solar radiation utilized water more efficiently by reducing transpiration. These results suggest that the weather variability needs to be taken into account in the assessment of water resources for developing irrigation schemes under warming with e[CO2].

Elevated CO2 alone or combined with warming increases water use efficiency (WUE) of rice plants, and WUE further increases when solar radiation in limited due to decreased transpiration
Keywords
Carbon isotope ratio
Relative humidity
Solar radiation
Vapor pressure deficit
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Information
  • Publisher :Korean Society of Soil Science and Fertilizer
  • Publisher(Ko) :한국토양비료학회
  • Journal Title :Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
  • Journal Title(Ko) :한국토양비료학회 학회지
  • Volume : 58
  • No :3
  • Pages :384-395
  • Received Date : 2025-07-15
  • Revised Date : 2025-08-02
  • Accepted Date : 2025-08-06
  • DOI :https://doi.org/10.7745/KJSSF.2025.58.3.384
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