Silicon as a key driver of phytolith and phytolith-occluded carbon sequestration for climate change mitigation in rice ecosystems - a reviewCCESS

Abstract

AbstractAnthropogenic activities have increased atmospheric greenhouse gases,especially carbon dioxide, leading to global warming and climate change in recentyears. Silica, a principal element in the Earth's crust, is an essential resource forplant growth and development. Silica is absorbed by plants as mono-silicic acid(H4SiO4) and deposited as opal stone/phytolith in the cellular spaces and vascularbundles of plant parts. The highest phytolith content of rice plants is observed instraw, which is incorporated into the soil during harvest and acts as a resiliencematerial. The Lsi1 and Lsi2 transporters and significant and secondary plantnutrients underwent Polymerization with adsorbed Si to form a phytolithstructure in rice. These phytoliths give structural support, function as a defencemechanism, impart biotic and abiotic stresses and reduce the toxicity of certainheavy metals and salinization of soil. Phytolith-occluded carbon (PhytOC) isformed through occlusion, contributing to the geochemical carbon cycle andclimate change mitigation. Over the past 60 years, the annual carbonsequestration varied between 0.81 × 106 and 3.88 × 106 Mg-e-CO2 and a maximumof 37 × 108 Mg-e-CO2 within phytoliths in rice crops in China. Research inarchaeology, palaeobotany, geology and paleoecology has focused on phytolithsbecause silica is a non-degradable base preserved as microfossils. Using silicon-rich organic and inorganic sources enhances the Aboveground Net PrimaryProductivity (ANPP) and Phytolith C sequestration in the rice ecosyste (PDF) Silicon as a key driver of phytolith and phytolith-occluded carbon sequestration for climate change mitigation in rice ecosystems - a reviewCCESS. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/389267019_Silicon_as_a_key_driver_of_phytolith_and_phytolith-occluded_carbon_sequestration_for_climate_change_mitigation_in_rice_ecosystems_-_a_reviewCCESS [accessed May 16 2025].