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Silicon accumulation in rice plant aboveground biomass affects leaf carbon quality

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Abstract

Background and aim

Silicon is known to be able to substitute carbon in plant biomass, especially in cellulose, lignin and phenols. However, a more comprehensive picture regarding the effect of silicon accumulation on plant carbon quality (cellulose, lignin, phenol, wax, lipids, and free organic acids content) with regard to potential decomposability is still missing.

Methods

Two different rice varieties (French brown and red rice cultivars) were cultivated under five different soil silicon availabilities. After maturity we harvested the plants and analyzed them regarding carbon quality by FTIR spectroscopy and regarding plant silicon concentrations.

Results

Silicon accumulation was found to be dependent on silicon availability and on the specific rice cultivar. The lowering of carbon compounds content by silicon was found not to be restricted to cellulose, lignin and phenol. Silicon accumulation was able to decrease other carbon compounds such as fat, wax, lipids, and free organic acids, too.

Conclusions

Consequently, silicon is important for the carbon quality of silicon accumulating plants. Furthermore, silicon accumulation in plants is interfering with a large range of different carbon compounds potentially altering the leaf economic spectra, decomposability, and thus potentially interfering with the whole performance of ecosystems dominated by silicon accumulating plant species.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Johannes Stemper for help during plant cultivation, Cyrille Thomas (Centre Français du Riz) for providing the soil and discussion on cultivation practices, Stefan Will for ICP-MS and Central Analytics (all University of Bayreuth) for ICP-OES measurements. FTIR spectra were recorded at the central laboratory of the Institute of Landscape Ecology, University of Münster. The help of Henning Teickner in evaluation of FTIR spectra is greatly acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Environmental Geochemistry, Bayreuth Center for Ecology and Environmental Research (BayCEER), University Bayreuth, Universitätsstraße 30, 95447, Bayreuth, Germany

    Jörg Schaller & Robin Heimes

  2. Institute of Plant Science and Resources, Okayama University, Chuo 2-20-1, Kurashiki, 710-0046, Japan

    Jian Feng Ma, Ji Feng Shao & Miho Fujii-Kashino

  3. Aix Marseille Univ, CNRS, IRD, Coll. France, INRA, CEREG, Europôle Mediterranéen de l’Arbois BP, cedex 4, 80 13545, Aix-en-Provence, France

    Jean-Dominique Meunier

  4. Ecohydrology & Biogeochemistry Group, Institute of Landscape Ecology, University Münster, Heisenbergstr. 2, 48149, Münster, Germany

    Klaus Holger Knorr

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  1. Jörg Schaller
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Correspondence to Jörg Schaller.

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Schaller, J., Heimes, R., Ma, J.F. et al. Silicon accumulation in rice plant aboveground biomass affects leaf carbon quality. Plant Soil 444, 399–407 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-019-04267-8

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