Effects of elevated CO2 concentration on the quality of agricultural products: a review

The increasing concentration of atmospheric CO2 and the nutritional quality of human diets are the two important issues we are facing. At present, the atmospheric CO2 concentration is about 380 micromol mol(-1), and to be reached 550 micromol mol(-1) by 2050. A great deal of researches indicated that the quality of agricultural products is not only determined by inherited genes, but also affected by the crop growth environmental conditions. This paper summarized the common methods adopted at home and abroad for studying the effects of CO2 enrichment on the quality of agricultural products, and reviewed the research advances in evaluating the effects of elevated CO2 on the quality of rice, wheat, soybean, and vegetables. Many experimental results showed that elevated CO2 concentration causes a decrease of protein content in the grains of staple food crops and an overall decreasing trend of trace elements contents in the crops, but improves the quality of vegetable products to some extent. Some issues and future directions regarding the effects of elevated CO2 concentration on the quality of agricultural products were also discussed, based on the present status of related researches.