Interactive effects of temperature and UVB radiation on methane emissions from different organs of pea plants grown in hydroponic system

•Effects of multiple stress factors on aerobic CH4 emissions from plants are critical.•Higher temperature stimulated methane emissions, which varied with plant organs.•Hydroponic system revealed the nonmicrobial origin of CH4 emissions from plants.•This study should advance our knowledge of aerobic CH4 emissions from plants.

There is no information on variation of methane (CH4) emissions from plant organs exposed to multiple environmental factors. We investigated the interactive effects of temperature and ultraviolet-B (UVB) radiation on CH4 emissions from different organs of pea (Pisum sativum L. var. UT234 Lincoln). Plants were grown hydroponically under two temperatures (22/18 °C and 28/24 °C; 16 h day/8 h night) and two levels of UVB radiation [0 and 5 kJ m− 2 d− 1] in controlled-environment growth chambers for ten days, after two weeks of initial growth under ambient temperatures. Methane emission, dry mass, growth index, electrical conductivity (EC), pectin, total chlorophyll content, gas exchange and flavonoids were measured in the appropriate plant organs - leaf, stem and root. Higher temperatures increased CH4 emissions, leaf mass ratio, and shoot: root mass ratio. Neither temperature nor UVB had significant effects on leaf, stem, root and total dry mass, EC, pectin, total chlorophyll, as well as specific leaf mass. Among plant organs, there were differences in CH4, EC, pectin and total chlorophyll. Methane and EC were highest for the stem and lowest for the leaf; leaf had highest, but stem had lowest, pectin content; total chlorophyll was highest in the leaf but lowest in the root. Higher temperatures decreased leaf flavonoids, net carbon dioxide assimilation, and water use efficiency. Overall, environmental stressors increased aerobic CH4 emission rates, which varied with plant organs.