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- Ainsworth, Elizabeth A., et al.
(author)
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Next generation of elevated [CO2] experiments with crops: a critical investment for feeding the future world
- 2008
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In: Plant, Cell and Environment. - : Wiley. - 0140-7791 .- 1365-3040. ; 31:9, s. 1317-1324
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- A rising global population and demand for protein-rich diets are increasing pressure to maximize agricultural productivity. Rising atmospheric [CO2] is altering global temperature and precipitation patterns, which challenges agricultural productivity. While rising [CO2] provides a unique opportunity to increase the productivity of C-3 crops, average yield stimulation observed to date is well below potential gains. Thus, there is room for improving productivity. However, only a fraction of available germplasm of crops has been tested for CO2 responsiveness. Yield is a complex phenotypic trait determined by the interactions of a genotype with the environment. Selection of promising genotypes and characterization of response mechanisms will only be effective if crop improvement and systems biology approaches are closely linked to production environments, that is, on the farm within major growing regions. Free air CO2 enrichment (FACE) experiments can provide the platform upon which to conduct genetic screening and elucidate the inheritance and mechanisms that underlie genotypic differences in productivity under elevated [CO2]. We propose a new generation of large-scale, low-cost per unit area FACE experiments to identify the most CO2-responsive genotypes and provide starting lines for future breeding programmes. This is necessary if we are to realize the potential for yield gains in the future.
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- Ehlers, Ina, 1984-
(author)
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NMR studies of metabolites and xenobiotics : From time-points to long-term metabolic regulation
- 2015
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Chemical species carry information in two dimensions, in their concentrations and their isotopic signatures. The concentrations of metabolites or synthetic compounds describe the composition of a chemical or biological system, while isotopic signatures describe processes in the system by their reaction pathways, regulation, and responses to external stimuli. Stable isotopes are unique tracers of these processes because their natural abundances are modulated by isotope effects occurring in physical processes as well as in chemical reactions. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is a prime technique not only for identification and quantification of small molecules in complex systems but also for measuring intramolecular distribution of stable isotopes in metabolites and other small molecules. In this thesis, we use quantitative NMR in three fields: in food science, environmental pollutant tracing, and plant-climate science.The phospholipid (PL) composition of food samples is of high interest because of their nutritional value and technological properties. However, the analysis of PLs is difficult as they constitute only a small fraction of the total lipid contents in foods. Here, we developed a method to identify PLs and determine their composition in food samples, by combining a liquid-liquid extraction approach for enriching PLs, with specialized 31P,1H-COSY NMR experiments to identify and quantify PLs.Wide-spread pollution with synthetic compounds threatens the environment and human health. However, the fate of pollutants in the environment is often poorly understood. Using quantitative deuterium NMR spectroscopy, we showed for the nitrosamine NDMA and the pesticide DDT how intramolecular distributions (isotopomer patterns) of the heavy hydrogen isotope deuterium reveal mechanistic insight into transformation pathways of pollutants and organic compounds in general. Intramolecular isotope distributions can be used to trace a pollutant’s origin, to understand its environmental transformation pathways and to evaluate remediation approaches.The atmospheric CO2 concentration ([CO2]) is currently rising at an unprecedented rate and plant responses to this increase in [CO2] influence the global carbon cycle and will determine future plant productivity. To investigate long-term plant responses, we developed a method to elucidate metabolic fluxes from intramolecular deuterium distributions of metabolites that can be extracted from historic plant material. We show that the intramolecular deuterium distribution of plant glucose depends on growth [CO2] and reflects the magnitude of photorespiration, an important side reaction of photosynthesis. In historic plant samples, we observe that photorespiration decreased in annual crop plants and natural vegetation over the past century, with no observable acclimation, implying that photosynthesis increased. In tree-ring samples from all continents covering the past 60 – 700 years, we detected a significantly smaller decrease in photorespiration than expected. We conclude that the expected “CO2 fertilization” has occurred but was significantly less pronounced in trees, due to opposing effects.The presented applications show that intramolecular isotope distributions not only provide information about the origin and turnover of compounds but also about metabolic regulation. By extracting isotope distributions from archives of plant material, metabolic information can be obtained retrospectively, which allows studies over decades to millennia, timescales that are inaccessible with manipulation experiments.
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4. |
- Haverd, Vanessa, et al.
(author)
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Higher than expected CO2 fertilization inferred from leaf to global observations
- 2020
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In: Global Change Biology. - : Wiley. - 1354-1013 .- 1365-2486. ; 26:4, s. 2390-2402
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Several lines of evidence point to an increase in the activity of the terrestrial biosphere over recent decades, impacting the global net land carbon sink (NLS) and its control on the growth of atmospheric carbon dioxide (ca). Global terrestrial gross primary production (GPP)—the rate of carbon fixation by photosynthesis—is estimated to have risen by (31 ± 5)% since 1900, but the relative contributions of different putative drivers to this increase are not well known. Here we identify the rising atmospheric CO2 concentration as the dominant driver. We reconcile leaf-level and global atmospheric constraints on trends in modeled biospheric activity to reveal a global CO2 fertilization effect on photosynthesis of 30% since 1900, or 47% for a doubling of ca above the pre-industrial level. Our historic value is nearly twice as high as current estimates (17 ± 4)% that do not use the full range of available constraints. Consequently, under a future low-emission scenario, we project a land carbon sink (174 PgC, 2006–2099) that is 57 PgC larger than if a lower CO2 fertilization effect comparable with current estimates is assumed. These findings suggest a larger beneficial role of the land carbon sink in modulating future excess anthropogenic CO2 consistent with the target of the Paris Agreement to stay below 2°C warming, and underscore the importance of preserving terrestrial carbon sinks.
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5. |
- Murari, A., et al.
(author)
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A control oriented strategy of disruption prediction to avoid the configuration collapse of tokamak reactors
- 2024
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In: Nature Communications. - 2041-1723 .- 2041-1723. ; 15:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The objective of thermonuclear fusion consists of producing electricity from the coalescence of light nuclei in high temperature plasmas. The most promising route to fusion envisages the confinement of such plasmas with magnetic fields, whose most studied configuration is the tokamak. Disruptions are catastrophic collapses affecting all tokamak devices and one of the main potential showstoppers on the route to a commercial reactor. In this work we report how, deploying innovative analysis methods on thousands of JET experiments covering the isotopic compositions from hydrogen to full tritium and including the major D-T campaign, the nature of the various forms of collapse is investigated in all phases of the discharges. An original approach to proximity detection has been developed, which allows determining both the probability of and the time interval remaining before an incoming disruption, with adaptive, from scratch, real time compatible techniques. The results indicate that physics based prediction and control tools can be developed, to deploy realistic strategies of disruption avoidance and prevention, meeting the requirements of the next generation of devices.
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8. |
- Walker, Anthony P., et al.
(author)
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Integrating the evidence for a terrestrial carbon sink caused by increasing atmospheric CO2
- 2021
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In: New Phytologist. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 0028-646X .- 1469-8137. ; 229:5, s. 2413-2445
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration ([CO2]) is increasing, which increases leaf‐scale photosynthesis and intrinsic water‐use efficiency. These direct responses have the potential to increase plant growth, vegetation biomass, and soil organic matter; transferring carbon from the atmosphere into terrestrial ecosystems (a carbon sink). A substantial global terrestrial carbon sink would slow the rate of [CO2] increase and thus climate change. However, ecosystem CO2 responses are complex or confounded by concurrent changes in multiple agents of global change and evidence for a [CO2]‐driven terrestrial carbon sink can appear contradictory. Here we synthesize theory and broad, multidisciplinary evidence for the effects of increasing [CO2] (iCO2) on the global terrestrial carbon sink. Evidence suggests a substantial increase in global photosynthesis since pre‐industrial times. Established theory, supported by experiments, indicates that iCO2 is likely responsible for about half of the increase. Global carbon budgeting, atmospheric data, and forest inventories indicate a historical carbon sink, and these apparent iCO2 responses are high in comparison to experiments and predictions from theory. Plant mortality and soil carbon iCO2 responses are highly uncertain. In conclusion, a range of evidence supports a positive terrestrial carbon sink in response to iCO2, albeit with uncertain magnitude and strong suggestion of a role for additional agents of global change.
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9. |
- Niemi, MEK, et al.
(author)
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- 2021
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swepub:Mat__t
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10. |
- Kanai, M, et al.
(author)
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- 2023
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swepub:Mat__t
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