Scientists have discovered the threat of falling rice yields due to climate change

Scientists at Auburn University in Montgomery have found that climate change, accompanied by an increase in carbon dioxide concentrations, can lead to phosphorus deficiency and, as a result, lower crop yields in poor countries. The results of the research were published in the journal Nature Geoscience.

The researchers conducted two long-term experiments lasting 9 and 15 years to enrich the atmospheric conditions in which rice grows with carbon dioxide. By the end of the experiments, the available phosphorus in the soil decreased by more than 20% (26.9% and 21.0% over 15 and 9 years, respectively).

Scientists explain the reduction in phosphorus content by the formation of organic phosphorus in the soil, which is not always available to plants. In addition, during harvesting, phosphorus is also mechanically removed. Together, these processes, under anthropogenic changes, lead to an insufficient amount of phosphorus to compensate for the deficiency that occurs when exposed to increased carbon dioxide content.

The results of the study are worrisome for rice yields, the scientists said, given the ongoing emissions of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and a generally projected rise in atmospheric carbon concentrations.