Non-structural carbohydrates (NSC) play an important role in yield formation. In this paper, the relationships of NSC accumulation and translocation with yield formation were investigated under elevated CO₂ concentrations ([CO₂]) and nitrogen (N) application rates. A japonica rice (Oryza sativa L.) cultivar, “Nanjing 9108,” was grown at three [CO₂]—Ambient (T0), ambient + 160 μmol·mol⁻¹ (T1), and ambient + 200 μmol·mol⁻¹ (T2)—in open-top chambers (OTC), with three levels of N fertilizer application rates—10 gN·m⁻² (N1), 20 gN·m⁻² (N2), and 30 gN·m⁻² (N3)—Which were set in OTCs using pot experiments. The results showed that the concentration of NSC (C_NSC) and the total mass of NSC stored in stems (TM_NSC) under T1 and T2 were higher than those in the T0 treatment, and the C_NSC and TM_NSC of N3 were lower than those of N1 and N2 at the heading stage. The C_NSC and the TM_NSC were significantly positively correlated with the stem biomass during the growth period and were notably negatively correlated with the N content in leaves (N_leaf) at the heading and filling stages. The seed setting rate was significantly positively related to the apparent transferred mass of NSC from stems to grains (ATM_NSC) at the filling stage, while the relationship between yield and the ATM_NSC was not statistically significant. Although there was no difference in the apparent contribution of transferred NSC to grain yield (AC_NSC) between treatments, NSC stored in stems further accumulated obviously during the late filling stage, implying that the grain yield of “Nanjing 9108” was predominantly sink-limited. We concluded that elevated [CO₂] improved the concentration of NSC at the rice heading stage. The interaction between elevated [CO₂] and N fertilizer rates significantly influenced the concentration of NSC at the filling stage. Rice stems NSC reaccumulated at the late grain filling stage, which implies a restriction on NSC transference to grain.

Aboveground biomass (AGB) in managed grasslands can vary across a suite of environmental and management conditions; however, there lacks a quantitative assessment at the national scale of China. Although the potential effects of individual drivers (e.g., species, nutrient fertilization, and water management) have been examined in China’s managed grasslands, no attempts have been made to comprehensively assess the effects of multiple variables on AGB. Using a meta-data analysis approach, we created a database composed of AGB and associated attributes of managed grasslands in China. The database was used to assess the responses of AGB to anthropogenic factors, in addition to a suite of natural variables including climate, soil, and topography. The average AGB in managed grasslands of China is approximately 630 g m⁻² of dry matter, ranging from 55 to 2172 g m⁻² (95% confidence interval). Medicago sativa is the most widely planted species in China’s managed grasslands, followed by Elymus dahuricus and Bromus japonicus. The national average AGB of these three species was around 692, 530, and 856 g m⁻², respectively. For each species, AGB shows a large discrepancy across different places. In general, grassland AGB depends substantially on species, environments, and management practices. The dependence can be well described by a linear mixed-effects regression in which a series of biotic and abiotic factors are used as predictors. We highlight that establishing managed grassland can potentially contribute to not only AGB enhancement, but also grassland restoration on degraded natural grasslands.