INCREASED CARBON LOSS VIA ROOT RESPIRATION AND IMPAIRED ROOT MORPHOLOGY UNDER FREE-AIR OZONE ENRICHMENT ADVERSELY AFFECT RICE (ORYZA SATIVA L.) PRODUCTION

SUMMARY The increasing tropospheric ozone concentration [O 3 ] strongly affects plant growth. However, the response of belowground processes in rice ( Oryza sativa L.) systems to higher O 3 is not well understood. The grain production, belowground biomass partitioning, root morphology and activity of rice (cv. Shanyou 63) were investigated in a free-air O 3 enrichment platform at four key growth stages. Elevated O 3 (EO 3 , 50% above the ambient O 3 ) significantly decreased the grain yield and total biomass at the grain milky mature stage, root biomass at the tillering stage and root to shoot ratios (RRS) at the flowering and grain filling stages. The effects of EO 3 on root morphology and activity varied among rice growth stage. EO 3 significantly decreased root length, density, area, diameter and volume at the flowering stage, but EO 3 significantly decreased various root morphological indices at the tillering, grain filling and milky mature stages. EO 3 significantly increased the specific root respiration rate (root activity) and root respiration rate (autotrophic respiration) at grain filling and milky mature stages. Higher root autotrophic respiration and lower RRS in response to EO 3 would reduce allocation of assimilated carbon to root growth, adversely affecting rice productivity. Our findings are critical for understanding the O 3 -induced impairment of belowground processes and carbon cycling in rice cropping systems and breeding of O 3 -tolerant cultivars under higher [O 3 ] scenarios.