Silicon as a key driver of phytolith and phytolith-occluded carbon sequestration for climate change mitigation in rice ecosystems - a review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14719/pst.5815Keywords:
carbon sequestration, climate change, phytolith, phytolith occluded carbonAbstract
Anthropogenic activities have increased atmospheric greenhouse gases, especially carbon dioxide, leading to global warming and climate change in recent years. Silica, a principal element in the Earth's crust, is an essential resource for plant growth and development. Silica is absorbed by plants as mono-silicic acid (H4SiO4) and deposited as opal stone/phytolith in the cellular spaces and vascular bundles of plant parts. The highest phytolith content of rice plants is observed in straw, which is incorporated into the soil during harvest and acts as a resilience material. The Lsi1 and Lsi2 transporters and significant and secondary plant nutrients underwent Polymerization with adsorbed Si to form a phytolith structure in rice. These phytoliths give structural support, function as a defence mechanism, impart biotic and abiotic stresses and reduce the toxicity of certain heavy metals and salinization of soil. Phytolith-occluded carbon (PhytOC) is formed through occlusion, contributing to the geochemical carbon cycle and climate change mitigation. Over the past 60 years, the annual carbon sequestration varied between 0.81 × 106 and 3.88 × 106 Mg-e-CO2 and a maximum of 37 × 108 Mg-e-CO2 within phytoliths in rice crops in China. Research in archaeology, palaeobotany, geology and paleoecology has focused on phytoliths because silica is a non-degradable base preserved as microfossils. Using siliconrich organic and inorganic sources enhances the Aboveground Net Primary Productivity (ANPP) and Phytolith C sequestration in the rice ecosystem.
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Copyright (c) 2024 M Manonmani , Nirmala Mary P Christy , S Sheeba , T Raghavan , R Amutha, R Jasmine, R M Jayabalakrishnan , R Murugaragavan, P Ramamoorthy, K Rajkumar
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