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Next generation of elevated [CO 2 ] experiments with crops: a critical investment for feeding the future world
Author(s) -
AINSWORTH ELIZABETH A.,
BEIER CLAUS,
CALFAPIETRA CARLO,
CEULEMANS REINHART,
DURANDTARDIF MYLENE,
FARQUHAR GRAHAM D.,
GODBOLD DOUGLAS L.,
HENDREY GEORGE R.,
HICKLER THOMAS,
KADUK JÖRG,
KARNOSKY DAVID F.,
KIMBALL BRUCE A.,
KÖRNER CHRISTIAN,
KOORNNEEF MAARTEN,
LAFARGE TANGUY,
LEAKEY ANDREW D. B.,
LEWIN KEITH F.,
LONG STEPHEN P.,
MANDERSCHEID REMY,
MCNEIL DAVID L.,
MIES TIMOTHY A.,
MIGLIETTA FRANCO,
MORGAN JACK A.,
NAGY JOHN,
NORBY RICHARD J.,
NORTON ROBERT M.,
PERCY KEVIN E.,
ROGERS ALISTAIR,
SOUSSANA JEANFRANCOIS,
STITT MARK,
WEIGEL HANSJOACHIM,
WHITE JEFFREY W.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
plant, cell and environment
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.646
H-Index - 200
eISSN - 1365-3040
pISSN - 0140-7791
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-3040.2008.01841.x
Subject(s) - productivity , agriculture , agricultural productivity , germplasm , yield (engineering) , natural resource economics , trait , investment (military) , microbiology and biotechnology , production (economics) , crop productivity , population , biology , environmental science , agronomy , agricultural engineering , ecology , economics , computer science , economic growth , engineering , sociology , programming language , materials science , demography , macroeconomics , politics , law , political science , metallurgy
A rising global population and demand for protein‐rich diets are increasing pressure to maximize agricultural productivity. Rising atmospheric [CO 2 ] is altering global temperature and precipitation patterns, which challenges agricultural productivity. While rising [CO 2 ] provides a unique opportunity to increase the productivity of C 3 crops, average yield stimulation observed to date is well below potential gains. Thus, there is room for improving productivity. However, only a fraction of available germplasm of crops has been tested for CO 2 responsiveness. Yield is a complex phenotypic trait determined by the interactions of a genotype with the environment. Selection of promising genotypes and characterization of response mechanisms will only be effective if crop improvement and systems biology approaches are closely linked to production environments, that is, on the farm within major growing regions. Free air CO 2 enrichment (FACE) experiments can provide the platform upon which to conduct genetic screening and elucidate the inheritance and mechanisms that underlie genotypic differences in productivity under elevated [CO 2 ]. We propose a new generation of large‐scale, low‐cost per unit area FACE experiments to identify the most CO 2 ‐responsive genotypes and provide starting lines for future breeding programmes. This is necessary if we are to realize the potential for yield gains in the future.