title: The potential for carbon bio-sequestration in China's paddy rice (Oryza sativa L.) as impacted by slag-based silicate fertilizer.
abstract: Rice is a typical silicon-accumulating plant. Silicon (Si), deposited as phytoliths during plant growth, has been shown to occlude organic carbon, which may prove to have significant effects on the biogeochemical sequestration of atmospheric CO2. This study evaluated the effects of silicate fertilization on plant Si uptake and carbon bio-sequestration in field trials on China's paddy soils. The results showed (1) Increased Si concentrations in rice straw with increasing application rates of silicate fertilizer; (2) Strong positive correlations between phytolith contents and straw SiO2 contents and between phytolith contents and phytolith-occluded carbon (PhytOC) contents in rice straw; (3) Positive correlations between the phytolith production flux and either the above-ground net primary productivity (ANPP) or the PhytOC production rates; (4) Increased plant PhytOC storage with increasing application rates of silicate fertilizer. The average above-ground PhytOC production rates during China's rice production are estimated at 0.94 × 10(6) tonnes CO2 yr(-1) without silicate fertilizer additions. However, the potential exists to increase PhytOC levels to 1.16-2.17 × 10(6) tonnes CO2 yr(-1) with silicate fertilizer additions. Therefore, providing silicate fertilizer during rice production may serve as an effective tool in improving atmospheric CO2 sequestration in global rice production areas.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Plant Nutrition and Fertilizer, Ministry of Agriculture, Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Alin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Plant Nutrition and Fertilizer, Ministry of Agriculture, Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Dongfeng
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ning
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Plant Nutrition and Fertilizer, Ministry of Agriculture, Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Fenliang
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Plant Nutrition and Fertilizer, Ministry of Agriculture, Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Zhaojun
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Harsco Metals and Minerals, 359 North Pike Rd Sarver, PA 16055 USA.
authors.forename: Mary
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Provance-Bowley
authors.affiliation: Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Environment Remediation and Ecological Health, College of Environmental &Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China.
authors.forename: Yongchao
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liang
mesh_terms: D002244:Carbon / Q000378:metabolism*; D002245:Carbon Dioxide; D005308:Fertilizers; D012275:Oryza / Q000254:growth & development*; D017640:Silicates / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D005308:Fertilizers; D017640:Silicates; D002245:Carbon Dioxide; D002244:Carbon