Abstract
Growth rate and salt accumulation were investigated in experiments on Halimione portulacoides with seven sodium chloride treatments, in water culture. The growth of Halimione was found to be stimulated by moderate, 85–170 mM NaCl, levels of salinity, but increasingly depressed by salinities from 410–690 mM NaCl, which is comparable to salinities in salt marshes during the growing season.
Using the same technique, growth rate, chloride and nitrogen uptake experiments at four different sodium chloride and nitrate treatment levels were conducted, in order to study the effect of nitrogen and salt. At 8 mM NaCl in the growth medium growth was depressed at 16.2 mM nitrate treatment levels. At 137 mM, 410 mM and 684 mM of NaCl growth was stimulated by increasing levels of nitrogen. The results of these experiments are discussed in relation to the nitrogen and salt conditions prevailing in Halimione portulacoides salt-marsh communities.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Albert, R. & Popp, M., 1977. Chemical composition of halophytes from the Neusiedler Lake Region in Austria. Oecologia 27: 157–170.
Baumeister, W. V. & Kloos, G., 1974. Über die Salzsekretion bei Halimione portulacoides (L.) Aellen. Flora 163: 310–326.
Beeftink, W. G., 1959. Some notes on Skallingen's salt marsh vegetation and its habitat. Acta Bot. Neer. 8: 449–472.
Cavaliera, V. J. & Huang, N. H. C., 1981. Accumulation of proline and glycine betaine in Spartina alterniflora Loisel in response to NaCl and nitrogen in the marsh. Oecologia (Berl.) 49: 224–228.
Chapman, V. J., 1937. A note upon Obione portulacoides (L.) Gaert. Ann. Bot. N.S. 1: 305–309.
Chapman, V. J., 1950. Biological flora of the British Isles. Halimione portulacoides (L.). Aellen. J. Ecol. 38: 214–222.
Cram, W. J., 1973. Internal factors regulating nitrate and chloride influx in plant cells. J. Exp. Bot. 24: 328–341.
Flowers, T. J., Troke, P. F. & Yeo, A. R., 1977. The mechanism of salt tolerance in halophytes. Ann. Rev. Plant Physiol. 28: 89–121.
Greenway, H., 1968. Growth stimulation by high chloride concentrations in halophytes. Israel J. Bot. 17: 169–177.
Hellebust, J. A., 1976. Osmoregulation. Ann. Rev. Plant Physiol. 27: 485–505.
Henriksen, K. & Jensen, A., 1979. Nitrogen mineralization in a salt marsh ecosystem dominated by Halimione portulacoides. In: R. L. Jefferies & A. J. Davy (eds.), Ecological Processes in Coastal Environments, pp. 373–384. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford.
Hoagland, D. R. & Arnon, D. J., 1950. The water culture method for growing plants without soil. Cal. Agric. Expt. Sta. Cir. 347.
Hunt, R., 1982. Plant Growth Curves. The functional approach to plant growth analysis. Edward Arnold, London.
Jensen, A., 1973. Kormofytvegetationen i den ydre marsk på Skallingen — succession i relation til edafiske, hydrologiske og klimatiske faktorer. Thesis. Institute of Ecological Botany. University of Copenhagen.
Kirkby, E. A. & Knight, A. H., 1977. Influence of the level of nitrate nutrition on ion uptake and assimilation, organic acid accumulation and cation-anion balance in whole tomato plants. Plant Physiol. 60: 349–353.
Morris, A. W. & Riley, J. P., 1963. The determination of nitrate in seawater. Anal. Chim. Acta 29: 272–279.
Osmond, C. B., 1965. Related aspects of ion absorption and acid metabolism in Atriplex spongiosa. F. v. M. PhD thesis. University of Adelaide, Adelaide.
Osmond, C. B., Björkman, O. & Anderson, D. J., 1980. Physiological Processes in Plant Ecology. Toward a synthesis with Atriplex. Springer Verlag, Berlin.
Pigott, C. D., 1969. Influence of mineral nutrition on the zonation of flowering plants in coastal salt marshes. In: I. H. Rorison (ed.), Ecological Aspects of Mineral Nutrition of Plants. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford.
Poljakoff-Mayber, A. & Gale, J., 1975. Plants in Saline Environments. Springer Verlag, Berlin.
Rozema, J., 1976. An ecophysiological study on the response to salt of four halophytic and glycophytic Juncus species. Flora 165: 197–209.
Rozema, J., Dueck, T., Wesselman, H. & Bijl, F., 1983. Nitrogen-dependent growth stimulation by salt in strandline species. Acta Oecologia Oecol. Plant. 4: 41–52.
Solorzano, L., 1969. Determination of ammonia in natural waters by the phenol-hypochlorite method. Limnol. Oceanogr. 14: 799–810.
Stewart, G. R., Lee, J. A. & Orebamjo, T. O., 1972. Nitrogen metabolism of halophytes. I. Nitrate reductase activity in Suaeda maritima. New Phytol. 71: 263–267.
Stewart, G. R., Lee, J. A. & Orebamjo, T. O., 1973. Nitrogen metabolism of halophytes. II. Nitrate availability and utilization. New Phytol. 72: 539–546.
Stewart, G. R. & Lee, J. A., 1974. The role of proline accumulation in halophytes. Planta 120: 279–289.
Stienstra, A. W., 1977. Mineral composition of Halimione portulacoides (L.) Aellen leaves. Hydrobiologia 52: 89–91.
Storey, R., Ahmad, N. & Wyn Jones, R. G., 1977. Taxonomic and ecological aspects of the distribution of glycinebetaine and related compounds in plants. Oecologia 27: 319–332. 433–447.
Tyler, G., 1967. On the effect of phosphorus and nitrogen supplied to Baltic shore meadow vegetation. Bot. Notiser 120: 433–000.
Valiela, J. & Teal, J. M., 1974. Nutrient limitation in salt marsh vegetation. In: R. J. Reimold & W. H. Queen (eds.), Ecology of Halophytes, pp. 547–563. Academic Press, New York.
Wintermans, J. F. G. M. & Mots, A.de, 1965. Spectrophotometric characteristics of chlorophylls a and b and their pheophytins in ethanol. Biochim. Biophys. Acta 109: 448–453.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Nomenclature follows Rostrup-Jørgensen (1973): Den danske flora, 20th ed. Gyldendal, Copenhagen.
The skilled technical assistance of B. Pihlkjaer and the constructive criticism and discussion of the manuscript by Dr R. Wyndaele, Dr J. A. Lee and Dr A. J. Davy is kindly acknowledged.