Abstract
Nineteen frost-resistant Eucalyptus species were screened for salt tolerance under glasshouse conditions. This study was undertaken in order to determine the potential of these species for planting on dryland salt-affected sites in the frost-prone Tablelands of south-eastern Australia. Seedlings were established in sand-filled pots and exposed to a step-wise increase in NaCl concentration to a maximum of 500 mol m−3. Salt tolerance was assessed on the basis of mortality, leaf damage and height growth. All species in the subgenus Symphyomyrtus Footnote 1, particularly those in the Section Maidenaria Series Ovatae, were moderately salt-tolerant (no mortality at 300 mol m−3 NaCl) whereas those in the subgenus Monocalyptus Footnote 2 proved to be very salt-sensitive (no survival at 300 mol m−3 NaCl). Eucalyptus camaldulensis, E. tereticornis and E. occidentalis were the most salt-tolerant species of those included in this study. Salt-sensitive species had shoot Na+ and Cl− concentrations of up to 2.25 mmol g−1 dry wt.
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Notes
following the informal classification of the eucalypts by Pryor and Johnson (1971).
following the informal classification of the eucalypts by Pryor and Johnson (1971).
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Marcar, N.E. Salt tolerance of frost-resistant eucalypts. New Forest 3, 141–149 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00021578
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00021578