Effects of climate change, CO2 and O3 on wheat productivity in Eastern China, singly and in combination

• Published in: Atmospheric environment (1994) Vol. 153; pp. 182 - 193
• Main Authors: Tao, Fulu, Feng, Zhaozhong, Tang, Haoye, Chen, Yi, Kobayashi, Kazuhiko
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01.03.2017
• Subjects: Air pollution; atmospheric chemistry; carbon dioxide; carbon dioxide enrichment; China; climate; Climate change; CO2 fertilization; Crop; ecophysiology; food production; food security; mechanistic models; Ozone; Risk; uncertainty; wheat; China; Crop; Climate change; Air pollution; Ozone; Risk; CO2 fertilization
• ISSN: 1352-2310; 1873-2844
• DOI: 10.1016/j.atmosenv.2017.01.032

Air pollution and climate change are increasing threats to agricultural production and food security. Extensive studies have focused on the effect of climate change, but the interactive effects of multiple global change factors are poorly understood. Here, we incorporate the interactions between climate change, carbon dioxide (CO2) and ozone (O3) into an eco-physiological mechanistic model based on three years of O3 Free-Air Concentration Elevation (O3-FACE) experiments. We then investigate the effects of climate change, elevated CO2 concentration ([CO2]) and rising O3 concentration ([O3]) on wheat growth and productivity in eastern China in 1996–2005 (2000s) and 2016–2025 (2020s) under two climate change scenarios, singly and in combination. We find the interactive effects of climate change, CO2 and O3 on wheat productivity have spatially explicit patterns; the effect of climate change dominates the general pattern, which is however subject to the large uncertainties of climate change scenarios. Wheat productivity is estimated to increase by 2.8–9.0% due to elevated [CO2] however decline by 2.8–11.7% due to rising [O3] in the 2020s, relative to the 2000s. The combined effects of CO2 and O3 are less than that of O3 only, on average by 4.6–5.2%, however with O3 damage outweighing CO2 benefit in most of the region. This study demonstrates a more biologically meaningful and appropriate approach for assessing the interactive effects of climate change, CO2 and O3 on crop growth and productivity. Our findings promote the understanding on the interactive effects of multiple global change factors across contrasting climate conditions, cast doubt on the potential of CO2 fertilization effect in offsetting possible negative effect of climate change on crop productivity as suggested by many previous studies. [Display omitted] •Interactive effects of climate change, CO2 and O3 on crop productivity are poorly understood.•Effect of O3 on crop productivity was incorporated into an eco-physiological mechanistic model.•Effects of climate change, CO2 and O3 on wheat productivity were investigated, singly and in combination.•Wheat productivity is estimated to decline by 2.8–11.7% due to rising O3 in the 2020s, relative to 2000s.•The combined effects of CO2 and O3 are less than that of single O3 on average by 4.6–5.2%.