Climatic warming is often predicted to reduce wheat yield and grain quality in China. However, direct evidence is still lacking. We conducted a three-year experiment with a Free Air Temperature Increase (FATI) facility to examine the responses of winter wheat growth and plant N accumulation to a moderate temperature increase of 1.5°C predicted to prevail by 2050 in East China. Three warming treatments (AW: all-day warming; DW: daytime warming; NW: nighttime warming) were applied for an entire growth period. Consistent warming effects on wheat plant were recorded across the experimental years. An increase of ca. 1.5°C in daily, daytime and nighttime mean temperatures shortened the length of pre-anthesis period averagely by 12.7, 8.3 and 10.7 d (P<0.05), respectively, but had no significant impact on the length of the post-anthesis period. Warming did not significantly alter the aboveground biomass production, but the grain yield was 16.3, 18.1 and 19.6% (P<0.05) higher in the AW, DW and NW plots than the non-warmed plot, respectively. Warming also significantly increased plant N uptake and total biomass N accumulation. However, warming significantly reduced grain N concentrations while increased N concentrations in the leaves and stems. Together, our results demonstrate differential impacts of warming on the depositions of grain starch and protein, highlighting the needs to further understand the mechanisms that underlie warming impacts on plant C and N metabolism in wheat.
Institute of Applied Ecology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China;Institute of Crop Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences/Key Laboratory of Crop Physiology and Ecology, Ministry of Agriculture, Beijing, China;Soil and Fertilizer and Resources and Environmental Institute, Jiangxi Academy of Agricultural Science/Key Laboratory of Crop Ecophysiology and Farming System for the Middle and Lower Reaches of Yangtze River, Ministry of Agriculture, Nanchang, China;Institute of Applied Ecology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China;Institute of Crop Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences/Key Laboratory of Crop Physiology and Ecology, Ministry of Agriculture, Beijing, China;Institute of Crop Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences/Key Laboratory of Crop Physiology and Ecology, Ministry of Agriculture, Beijing, China;Institute of Crop Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences/Key Laboratory of Crop Physiology and Ecology, Ministry of Agriculture, Beijing, China;Institute of Applied Ecology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China;Institute of Crop Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences/Key Laboratory of Crop Physiology and Ecology, Ministry of Agriculture, Beijing, China
Recommended Citation:
Yunlu Tian,Chengyan Zheng,Jin Chen,et al. Climatic Warming Increases Winter Wheat Yield but Reduces Grain Nitrogen Concentration in East China[J]. PLOS ONE,2014-01-01,9(4)