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NaCl homoeostasis as a factor for the survival of the evergreen halophyte Armeria maritima (Mill.) Willd. under salt stress in winter
Author(s) -
KÖHL K. I.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
plant, cell and environment
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.646
H-Index - 200
eISSN - 1365-3040
pISSN - 0140-7791
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-3040.1997.d01-28.x
Subject(s) - halophyte , evergreen , salt marsh , temperate climate , shoot , biology , botany , salinity , ecology
The combination of NaCl and low temperature stress makes winter a critical time for evergreen halophytes at temperate latitudes. As part of a study of ecotypic differentiation of the evergreen Armeria maritima (Mill.) Willd., inland and salt‐marsh populations were compared with respect to their growth and survival, osmotic adjustment and NaCl concentrations (based on dry weight) under salt stress in pot experiments in winter. Increased leaf necrosis in all populations under salt stress indicated a higher NaCl sensitivity in winter than in summer. Plants from inland populations were more sensitive than salt‐marsh populations. Inland and salt‐marsh populations showed similar capacities for seasonal osmotic adjustment, high seasonal increase of praline concentration and long‐term betaine accumulation. Inland and salt‐marsh populations allocated Na and Cl preferentially to the shoot. In inland populations, Na and Cl accumulated to high concentrations in leaves, whereas the much lower NaCl concentration in salt‐marsh populations suggested that in these plants, Na uptake was regulated to match the growth‐dependent ion demand of the shoot. The prevention of NaCl accumulation in times of slow growth by a NaCl homoeostasis system seemed to be an important adaptation with respect to the survival of evergreen plants in salt marshes.