Variable silicon accumulation in plants affects terrestrial carbon cycling by controlling lignin synthesis
| Autor: | Robert Mikutta, Anika Klotzbücher, Thimo Klotzbücher, Reinhold Jahn, Doris Vetterlein, Klaus Kaiser |
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| Rok vydání: | 2017 |
| Předmět: |
0106 biological sciences
Silicon chemistry.chemical_element Lignin 01 natural sciences Carbon Cycle Carbon cycle chemistry.chemical_compound Nutrient Environmental Chemistry Ecosystem General Environmental Science Global and Planetary Change Plant Stems Ecology food and beverages Oryza 04 agricultural and veterinary sciences Straw Carbon Agronomy chemistry 040103 agronomy & agriculture 0401 agriculture forestry and fisheries Terrestrial ecosystem Cycling 010606 plant biology & botany |
| Zdroj: | Global Change Biology. 24:e183-e189 |
| ISSN: | 1354-1013 |
| Popis: | Current climate and land-use changes affect regional and global cycles of silicon (Si), with yet uncertain consequences for ecosystems. The key role of Si in marine ecology by controlling algae growth is well recognized but research on terrestrial ecosystems neglected Si since not considered an essential plant nutrient. However, grasses and various other plants accumulate large amounts of Si, and recently it has been hypothesized that incorporation of Si as a structural plant component may substitute for the energetically more expensive biosynthesis of lignin. Herein, we provide evidence supporting this hypothesis. We demonstrate that in straw of rice (Oryza sativa) deriving from a large geographic gradient across South-East Asia, the Si concentrations (ranging from 1.6% to 10.7%) are negatively related to the concentrations of carbon (31.3% to 42.5%) and lignin-derived phenols (32 to 102 mg/g carbon). Less lignin may explain results of previous studies that Si-rich straw decomposes faster. Hence, Si seems a significant but hardly recognized factor in organic carbon cycling through grasslands and other ecosystems dominated by Si-accumulating plants. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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