Abstract
The results of studies on the biomorphological features of 22 plant species growing on the southern coast of the Russian Far East provide evidence for the diversity of pathways of their adaptation to stressful habitat conditions. An analysis of the anatomical and mesostructural characteristics of their leaves has revealed representatives of euhalophytes, crinohalophytes, and glycohalophytes among these plants. Adaptation is achieved by means of halomorphosis, haloxerophytism, and development of some heliophilic features accounted for by species-specific manifestations of succulence, the presence of salt excreting trichomes, and thick pubescence. The similarity of these adaptations to those of desert plants is discussed. Along with plants characterized by a high germination rate, species that counterbalance a low efficiency of seed reproduction by active vegetative propagation have also successfully established themselves on the coast. Adaptation to coastal habitats is also achieved due to the diversity of life forms characterized mainly by tap root systems with laterally extending branch roots, creeping shoots, and a high vegetative mobility.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Araus, J.L., Alegre, L., Tapia, L., Calafell, R., and Serret, M.D., Relationships between Photosynthetic Capacity and Leaf Structure in Several Shade Plants, Am. J. Bot., 1986, vol. 73, no. 12, pp. 1760–1770.
Barkalov, V.Yu., A Synopsis of Vegetation, in Rastitel’nyi i zhivotnyi mir Kuril’skikh ostrovov: Mat-ly Mezhdunar. kuril’skogo proekta (Plants and Animals of the Kurile Islands: Materials for the International Kurile Project), Vladivostok: Del’nauka, 2002, pp. 35–66.
Burkovskaya, E.V., Burundukova, O.L., and Probatova, N.S., Structural-Functional Adaptations of the Assimilatory Apparatus in Vascular Plants on the Southern Far East Coast of Russia, in Ritmy i katastrofy v rastitel’nom pokrove Dal’nego Vostoka: Mat-ly Mezhdunar. nauch. konf. (Proc. Int. Sci. Conf. on Rhythms and Disasters in the Plant Cover of the Far East), Vladivostok, 2005, pp. 232–238.
Burundukova, O.L., Neupokoeva (Burkovskaya), E.V., and Probatova, N.S., Halophytes on the Southern Far East Coast: Anatomical and Physiological Aspects of Adaptation, in Zhivotnyi i rastitel’nyi mir Dal’nego Vostoka, Ussuriisk: Ussuriisk. Gos. Ped. Inst., 1997, no. 3, pp. 210–215.
D’yachenko, A.P., Comparative Analysis of Structural and Functional Features of Photosynthetic Apparatus in Different Ecological Groups of Vascular Plants, in Mezostruktura i funktsional’naya aktivnost’ fotosinteticheskogo apparata (Mesostructure and Functional Activity of Photosynthetic Apparatus), Sverdlovsk: Ural’sk. Gos. Univ., 1978, pp. 93–102.
Fedorov, A.A., Kirpichnikov, M.E., and Artyushenko, Z.T., Atlas po opisatel’noi morfologii vysshikh rastenii. List (Atlas of Descriptive Morphology of Higher Plants: The Leaf), Moscow: Akad. Nauk SSSR, 1956.
Flowers, T.J., Troke, P.F., and Yeo, A.R., The Mechanism of Salt Tolerance in Halophytes, Annu. Rev. Plant Physiol., 1977, vol. 28, pp. 89–121.
Genkel’, P.A., Soleustoichivost’ rastenii i puti ee napravlennogo povysheniya (Salt Tolerance in Plants and Methods for Its Improvement), Moscow: Akad. Nauk SSSR, 1954.
Goryshina, T.K., Fotosinteticheskii apparat rastenii i usloviya sredy (Plant Photosynthetic Apparatus and Environmental Conditions), Leningrad: Leningr. Gos. Univ., 1989.
Ivanova, L.A. and Pyankov, V.I., Effect of Ecological Factors on Structural Parameters of Leaf Mesophyll, Bot. Zh., 2002, vol. 87, no. 12, pp. 17–28.
Khan, M.A., Gul, B., and Weber, D.J., Seed Germination in the Great Basin Halophyte Salsola iberica, Can. J. Bot., 2002, vol. 80, no. 6, pp. 650–655.
Mokronosov, A.T., Mesostructure and Functional Activity of Photosynthetic Apparatus, in Mezostruktura i funktsional’naya aktivnost’ fotosinteticheskogo apparata (Mesostructure and Functional Activity of Photosynthetic Apparatus), Sverdlovsk: Ural’sk. Gos. Univ., 1978, pp. 5–30.
Mokronosov, A.T. and Borzenkova, R.A., Methods for Quantitative Assessment of the Structure and Functional Activity of Photosynthesizing Tissues and Organs, in Metody kompleksnogo izucheniya fotosinteza (Methods for the Comprehensive Study of Photosynthesis), Tr. Prikl. Bot. Selekts., vol. 61, issue 3, Leningrad: VNII Rastenievodstva, 1978, pp. 119–133.
Mokronosov, A.T. and Shmakova, T.V., Comparative Analysis of the Mesostructure of Photosynthetic Apparatus in Mesophytic and Xerophytic Plants, in Mezostruktura i funktsional’naya aktivnost’ fotosinteticheskogo apparata (Mesostructure and Functional Activity of Photosynthetic Apparatus), Sverdlovsk: Ural’sk. Gos. Univ., 1978, pp. 103–107.
Nagalevskii, V.Ya., Galofity Severnogo Kavkaza (Halophytes of the Northern Caucasus), Krasnodar: Kubansk. Gos. Univ., 2001.
Probatova, N.S. and Seledets, V.P., Vascular Plants in the Continent-Ocean Contact Zone, Vestn. Dal’nevost. Otd. Ross. Akad. Nauk, 1999, no. 3, pp. 80–92.
Pyankov, V.I., Role of the Photosynthetic Function in Plant Adaptation to Environmental Conditions, Extended Abstract of Doctoral (Biol.) Dissertation, Moscow, 1993.
Pyankov, V., Ziegler, H., Kuz’min, A., and Edwards, G., Origin and Evolution of C4 Photosynthesis in the Tribe Salsoleae (Chenopodiaceae) Based on Anatomical and Biochemical Types in Leaves and Cotyledons, Plant Syst. Evol., 2001, vol. 230, nos. 1–2, pp. 43–74.
Serebryakov, I.G., Life Forms of Higher Plants and Their Study, in Polevaya geobotanika (Field Geobotany), Leningrad: Nauka, 1964, vol. 3, pp. 146–205.
Shlyakhov, S.A. and Kostenkov, N.M., Pochvy Tikhookeanskogo poberezh’ya Rossii, ikh klassifikatsiya, otsenka i ispol’zovanie (Soils of the Russian Pacific Coast: Classification, Assessment, and Exploitation), Vladivostok: Dal’nauka, 2000.
Vakhrusheva, D.V., Mesostructure of Photosynthetic Apparatus in C3 Plants in the Arid Zone of Central Asia, Extended Abstract of Cand. Sci. (Biol.) Dissertation, Leningrad, 1989.
Voronkova, N.M., Burundukova, O.L., and Burkovskaya, E.V., Morphobiological Features of Seeds in Some Plant Species on the Russian Far East Coast, Botanicheskie issledovaniya v aziatskoi Rossii: Mat-ly XI s″ezda Russkogo bot. o-va (Botanical Studies in the Asian Part of Russia. Proc. XI Conf. Russ. Bot. O-va), Barnaul: AzBuka, 2003, pp. 32–33.
Zhao Kefu, Fan Hai., and Ungar, I.A., Survey of Halophyte Species in China, Plant Sci., 2002, vol. 163, no. 3, pp. 491–498.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Original Russian Text © N.M. Voronkova, E.V. Burkovskaya, T.A. Bezdeleva, O.L. Burundukova, 2008, published in Ekologiya, 2008, No. 1, pp. 3–9.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Voronkova, N.M., Burkovskaya, E.V., Bezdeleva, T.A. et al. Morphological and biological features of plants related to their adaptation to coastal habitats. Russ J Ecol 39, 1–7 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1067413608010013
Received:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S1067413608010013