Effects of ion uptake for salt tolerance in several Mediterranean halophytes

Abstract

The patterns of ion uptake were analysed in three dicotyledonous (Arthrocnemum macrostachyum, Sarcocornia fruticosa and Inula crithmoides) and two monocotyledonous (Juncus acutus and J. maritimus) halophytes, collected from a salt marsh in SE Spain. The experimental design included four plots in different positions within the marsh, and three sampling periods corresponding to spring, summer and autumn 2011. Electric conductivity, pH, and Na+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+ and Cl- contents were determined in saturated soil extracts. In plants, the same ions were extracted in boiling water. In soil samples, spatial variation in the measured parameters among plots was higher than the seasonal variation within plots, whereas in plants significant differences in ion contents were detected only between species, but not between plots or sampling seasons for a given species. The dicot species under study are Na+ and Cl- accumulators, showing significant higher levels of these ions than the monocot taxa, but a direct correlation between ion content in soil and plants could be not established