The impact of global warming on the uptake of arsenic into rice plants

• Applicant: Professorin E. Marie Muehe, Ph.D.
• Subject Area: Soil Sciences ; Microbial Ecology and Applied Microbiology ; Mineralogy, Petrology and Geochemistry
• Term: from 2014 to 2016
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 270208124

Rice is the staple food worldwide. Unfortunately, global rice yield is already falling behind population growth. One of the reasons for this is the presence of highly toxic arsenic in many South and Southeast Asian paddy soils, which is known to decrease rice growth and productivity. The current change in Earths climate is known to cause land loss due to desertification and inundation and lower (rice) crop yields, thus, threating the global food security. According to the highest emission scenario for greenhouse gases presented in the 5th assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, global annual temperatures could rise by more than 5°C by the year 2100. How increased temperatures and greenhouse gas concentrations affect the uptake of arsenic into rice and ultimately the quality and production of this crop is unknown and the main research question of this proposal.

• DFG Programme: Research Fellowships
• International Connection: USA
• Host: Professor Dr. Scott Fendorf