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WATER USE AND SALT BALANCE IN THREE SALT MARSH SUCCULENTS
Author(s) -
Antlfinger Ann E.,
Dunn E. Lloyd
Publication year - 1983
Publication title -
american journal of botany
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.218
H-Index - 151
eISSN - 1537-2197
pISSN - 0002-9122
DOI - 10.1002/j.1537-2197.1983.tb07884.x
Subject(s) - halophyte , xylem , salinity , biology , osmotic pressure , salt marsh , transpiration , botany , hydrostatic pressure , water balance , horticulture , ecology , photosynthesis , physics , thermodynamics , geotechnical engineering , engineering
Water‐use characteristics and potential salt accumulation rates were studied in three halophytes, Salicornia virginica, Balis marítima and Borrichia frutescens , inhabiting a salinity gradient in the high marsh. Xylem pressure potential ( ψ ρ ), leaf osmotic potential ( ψ π ) and leaf relative water content were measured seasonally in the three species. Species growing on the high end of the salinity gradient developed more negative xylem pressure potentials compared to species growing at lower soil salinities. This trend was also observed for leaf osmotic potentials. Low mean leaf ψ π (below –15 to –36 bars) and high ash contents (0.27–0.48 g NaCl/g DW) indicated salt accumulation in transpiring tissues. However, calculations of potential salt accumulation, based on rates of transpiration and substrate salinity, suggest that some mechanism of salt exclusion at the roots may be operating.