This volume presents new and additional information about the physiology and ecology of halophytic plant species and saline ecosystems.
The halophytes are highly specialized plants, which have greater tolerance to salt. They can germinate, grow and reproduce successfully in saline areas which would cause the death of regular plants. Most halophytic species are found in salt marsh systems along seashores or around landlocked inland lakes and flat plains with high evaporation. The halophytes play very significant role in the saline areas specially in the coast by overcoming the salinity in different ways, viz. with regulating mechanisms in which excess salts are excreted and with out regulating mechanism, which may include succulents or cumulative types. Besides that they protect coast from erosion and cyclones, provide feeding ground and nursery for fish, shrimps and birds. Halophytes get increasing attention today because of the steady increase of the salinity in irrigation systems in the arid and semi-arid regions where the increasing population reaches the limits of freshwater availability. In many countries, halophytes have been successfully grown on saline wasteland to provide animal fodder and have the potential for rehabilitation and even reclamation of these sites. The value of certain salt-tolerant grass species has been recognized by their incorporation in pasture improvement programs in many salt affected regions throughout the world. There have been recent advances in selecting species with high biomass and protein levels in combination with their ability to survive a wide range of environmental conditions, including salinity.
Our limited understanding of how halophytes work, as this may well be our future as our limit of fresh water is reached. It is important that we preserve these unusual plants and their habitats, not just for their aesthetic beauty, but also as a resource for the development of new salt tolerant and halophyte crop of economic importance. Over the last ten years much new information has become available, which is important for agriculture, forestry and floriculture.
Author(s): Barrett Gaylord, Todd P. Egan (auth.), M. Ajmal Khan, Darrell J. Weber (eds.)
Series: Tasks for Vegetation Science 40
Edition: 1
Publisher: Springer Netherlands
Year: 2006
Language: English
Pages: 404
Tags: Plant Sciences; Landscape Ecology; Freshwater & Marine Ecology; Plant Ecology; Plant Physiology; Soil Science & Conservation
How Salts Of Sodium, Potassium, And Sulfate Affect The Germination And Early Growth Of Atriplex Acanthocarpa (Chenopodiaceae)....Pages 1-9
Halophyte seed germination....Pages 11-30
Salt Tolerance Of Some Potential Forage Grasses From Cholistan Desert Of Pakistan....Pages 31-54
Variability Of Fruit And Seed-Oil Characteristics In Tunisian Accessions Of The Halophyte Cakile Maritima (Brassicaceae)....Pages 55-67
Salt Tolerant Plants from the Great Basin Region of the United States....Pages 69-106
Role Of Calcium In Alleviating Salinity Effects In Coastal Halophytes....Pages 107-114
Calorespirometric Metabolism And Growth In Response To Seasonal Changes Of Temperature And Salt....Pages 115-125
Evaluation Of Anthocyanin Contents Under Salinity (Nacl) Stress In Bellis Perennis L.....Pages 127-134
A Comparative Study On Responses Of Growth And Solute Composition In Halophytes Suaeda Salsa And Limonium Bicolor To Salinity....Pages 135-143
Alleviation Of Salinity Stress In The Seeds Of Some Brassica Species....Pages 145-156
Saline Tolerance Physiology In Grasses....Pages 157-172
Localization Of Potential Ion Transport Pathways In The Salt Glands Of The Halophyte Sporobolus Virginicus....Pages 173-185
Cellular Responses To Salinity Of Two Coastal Halophytes With Different Whole Plant Tolerance: Kosteletzkya Virginica (L.) Presl. And Sporobolus Virginicus (L.) Kunth....Pages 187-200
Eco-Physiological Studies On Indian Desert Plants: Effect Of Salt On Antioxidant Defense Systems In Ziziphus Spp....Pages 201-213
Sabkha Edge Vegetation Of Coastal And Inland Sabkhat In Saudi Arabia....Pages 215-224
Analysis Of The Soil Sustaining Salt Grass (Distichlis Spicata (L.) Greene) Wild Populations In A Semiarid Coastal Zone Of Mexico....Pages 225-237
Comparative Salt Tolerance Of Perennial Grasses....Pages 239-253
Commercial Application Of Halophytic Turfs For Golf And Landscape Developments Utilizing Hyper-Saline Irrigation....Pages 255-278
Salt Tolerance Of Floriculture Crops....Pages 279-287
Utilization Of Salt-Affected Soils By Growing Some Acacia Species....Pages 289-311
Soil Remediation Via Salt-Conduction And The Hypotheses Of Halosynthesis And Photoprotection....Pages 313-344
Mechanisms Of Cash Crop Halophytes To Maintain Yields And Reclaim Saline Soils In Arid Areas....Pages 345-366
Halophyte Uses For The Twenty-First Century....Pages 367-396
Halophyte Research And Development: What Needs To Be Done Next ?....Pages 397-399
