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Incorporating thresholds into understanding salinity tolerance: A study using salt-tolerant plants in salt marshes.

Publication ,  Journal Article
He, Q; Silliman, BR; Cui, B
Published in: Ecology and evolution
August 2017

Although salinity in many ecosystems such as salt marshes can be extremely high, an asymmetry in salinity range between experimental studies (relatively narrow) and field conditions (potentially broad) has strongly affected current understanding of plant salinity tolerance. To improve understanding, it is thus important to examine plant tolerances over a broad range of salinities and identify potential tolerance thresholds. We examine tolerances of two widely distributed marsh plants, Suaeda salsa and Salicornia europaea, to salinities ranging from 0 to 100 g/kg, and determine survival, above- and belowground biomass after 8 weeks of salinity treatment. Both species, Sa. europaea in particular, have much broader salinity tolerances than other plants previously examined, (2) plant survival, above- and belowground biomass have remarkably different responses to salinity, and (3) there is a nonlinear, threshold response of S. salsa to salinity, above which S. salsa survivorship drastically decreases. These results provide multiple important insights. Our study suggests that the potential for using these halophytes to revegetate and restore salt-affected land may be greater than previously thought, and highlights the importance of studying multiple plant responses. Importantly, our study calls for a better integration of thresholds into understanding plant salinity tolerances and their applications.

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Published In

Ecology and evolution

DOI

EISSN

2045-7758

ISSN

2045-7758

Publication Date

August 2017

Volume

7

Issue

16

Start / End Page

6326 / 6333

Related Subject Headings

  • 4102 Ecological applications
  • 3104 Evolutionary biology
  • 3103 Ecology
  • 0603 Evolutionary Biology
  • 0602 Ecology
 

Citation

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He, Q., Silliman, B. R., & Cui, B. (2017). Incorporating thresholds into understanding salinity tolerance: A study using salt-tolerant plants in salt marshes. Ecology and Evolution, 7(16), 6326–6333. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.3209
He, Qiang, Brian R. Silliman, and Baoshan Cui. “Incorporating thresholds into understanding salinity tolerance: A study using salt-tolerant plants in salt marshes.Ecology and Evolution 7, no. 16 (August 2017): 6326–33. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.3209.
He, Qiang, et al. “Incorporating thresholds into understanding salinity tolerance: A study using salt-tolerant plants in salt marshes.Ecology and Evolution, vol. 7, no. 16, Aug. 2017, pp. 6326–33. Epmc, doi:10.1002/ece3.3209.
He Q, Silliman BR, Cui B. Incorporating thresholds into understanding salinity tolerance: A study using salt-tolerant plants in salt marshes. Ecology and evolution. 2017 Aug;7(16):6326–6333.
Journal cover image

Published In

Ecology and evolution

DOI

EISSN

2045-7758

ISSN

2045-7758

Publication Date

August 2017

Volume

7

Issue

16

Start / End Page

6326 / 6333

Related Subject Headings

  • 4102 Ecological applications
  • 3104 Evolutionary biology
  • 3103 Ecology
  • 0603 Evolutionary Biology
  • 0602 Ecology