Combined effects of solar UV radiation and CO2-induced seawater acidification on photosynthetic carbon fixation of phytoplankton assemblages in the South China Sea

We carried out short term pCO₂/pH perturbation experiments in the coastal waters of the South China Sea to evaluate the combined effects of seawater acidification (low pH/high pCO₂) and solar UV radiation (UVR, 280–400 nm) on photosynthetic carbon fixation of phytoplankton assemblages. Under photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) alone treatments, reduced pCO² (190 ppmv) with increased pH resulted in a significant decrease in the photosynthetic carbon fixation rate (about 23%), while enriched pCO₂ (700 ppmv) with lowered pH had no significant effect on the photosynthetic performance compared to the ambient level. The apparent photosynthetic efficiency decreased under the reduced pCO₂ level, probably due to C-limitation as well as energy being diverged for up-regulation of carbon concentrating mechanisms (CCMs). In the presence of UVR, both UV-A and UV-B caused photosynthetic inhibition, though UV-A appeared to enhance the photosynthetic efficiency under lower PAR levels. UV-B caused less inhibition of photosynthesis under the reduced pCO₂ level, probably because of its contribution to the inorganic carbon (Ci)-acquisition processes. Under the seawater acidification conditions (enriched pCO₂), both UV-A and UV-B reduced the photosynthetic carbon fixation to higher extents compared to the ambient pCO₂ conditions. We conclude that solar UV and seawater acidification could synergistically inhibit photosynthesis.