Effect of elevated carbon dioxide and temperature on phosphorus uptake in tropical flooded rice (Oryza sativa L.)

•Total organic C in root exudates increased by 29% under elevated CO2 than ambient.•The organic acid in root exudates increased by 41% in elevated CO2 than ambient.•Microbial biomass P, phosphatase activity increased in elevated CO2 by 35.1, 32%.•The P uptake in shoot, root and grain under elevated CO2 increased by 29, 28 and 22%.•Soil available P in 3 kharif seasons in elevated CO2 increased by 23% over ambient. A field experiment was carried out to assess the impact of elevated carbon dioxide (CO2) and temperature on phosphorous (P) nutrition in relation to organic acids exudation, soil microbial biomass P (MBP) and phosphatase activities in tropical flooded rice. Rice (cv. Naveen) was grown under chambered control (CC), elevated CO2 (EC, 550μmolmol−1) and elevated CO2+elevated temperature (ECT, 550μmolmol−1 and 2°C more than CC) in a tropical flooded soil under open top chambers (OTCs) along with unchambered control (UC) for three years. Root exudates were analyzed at different growth stages of rice followed by organic acids determination. Rhizospheric soil was used for analysis of soil phosphatase, MBP and available P. The total organic carbon (TOC) in root exudates was increased by 27.5% and 30.2% under EC and ECT, respectively over CC. Four different types of organic acids viz. acetic acid (AA), tartaric acid (TA), malic acid (MA) and citric acid (CA) were identified and quantified as dominant in root exudates, concentration of these was in the order of TA>MA>AA>CA. The TA, MA, AA and CA content were increased by 34.4, 31.1, 38.7 and 58.3% under ECT compared to that of UC over the period of 3 years. The P uptake in shoot, root and grain under elevated CO2 increased significantly by 29, 28 and 22%, respectively than CC. Soil MBP, acid and alkaline phosphatase activity was significantly higher under elevated CO2 by 35.1%, 27 and 36%, respectively, compared to the CC. Significant positive relationship exists among the organic acid exudation, MBP, phosphatase activities and P uptake by rice. The enhanced organic acid in root exudates coupled with higher soil phosphatase activities under elevated CO2 resulted in increased rate of soil P solubilization leading to higher plant P uptake.