Adequate potassium application enhances salt tolerance of moderate-halophyte Sophora alopecuroides

Wei, Daozhi; Cheng, Da; Liu, W. B.; Liu, T.; Yang, Xinghong; Zheng, Yu

doi:10.17221/232/2015-pse

Cited by 5 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 18 publications

(6 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…These edaphic factors which affect community structure and distribution differ greatly across different ecosystems. In saline ecosystems, especially coastal salt marshes, soil salinity has been reported to be the principal factor influencing vegetation pattern (Chapman 1960;Adam 1990;Ortiz et al 1995;Wanner 2009). In arid and semiarid desertified lands, water is the primary limiting resource for plant growth, especially during seed germination and seedling establishment stage, and poses a considerable influence on species composition, distribution, and diversity (James et al 2005;Naz et al 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soil moisture and salt ionic composition effects on species distribution and diversity in semiarid inland saline habitats, northwestern China

Zhang

Zhao

Zhang

2018

Ecological Research

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Salinization is one of the main types causing land desertification in arid and semi‐arid regions. Little is known about the impacts of salinization on the distribution and diversity of plant species, especially in semiarid inland saline habitats. We established a total of 40 sampling plots to determine plant community (floristic composition, species abundance, cover, frequency, and aboveground biomass) and soil characteristics (moisture, pH, electrical conductivity (EC), and the contents of Na+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+, Cl−, SO42− and HCO3−). The TWINSPAN method was used to distinguish plant communities, by which three plant communities (I, II, III) were identified, namely Artemisia scoparia + Agropyron cristatum + Sophora alopecuroides (I), Kalidium gracile + Atriplex centralasiatica (II), and Salicornia europaea + Suaeda salsa (III). From I to III, the indices reflecting species diversity all decreased except for Pielou's index of evenness, while the aboveground biomass and cover increased; the characteristic indices of soil moisture, EC, the contents of Na+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+, Cl−, SO42− and total dissolved salts (TDS) significantly increased, while the Ca2+/Na+, K+/Na+ ratios and HCO3− content significantly decreased. Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) showed that the most important environmental factors influencing species distribution were: soil moisture, SO42−, K+/Na+ and pH. Stepwise multiple‐regression analysis indicated that species richness was correlated mainly with TDS and moisture. These results also suggested that vegetation can be used as a proxy indicating soil salt conditions, and their relationships can further provide important information for the improvement of salt‐affected soil's management and salt‐tolerant species utilization in environmental restoration.

show abstract