Physio-Biochemical Responses of Three Aquilegia Species Seedlings to Salt Stress

Road deicing salts are widely used during winter in northern China, which makes it essential to choose proper salt-tolerant plant species urban landscapes. Columbine (Aquilegia) is a herb with high ornamental and commercial values. This study evaluated three Aquilegia (A. oxysepala, A. parviflora, viridiflora) for salt tolerance by monitoring their germination state under different electrical conductivity (EC) of 0.1 dS·m−1 (distilled water), 1.0 dS·m−1, 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 physio-biochemical responses EC 0.3 (tap 10.0 dS·m−1. The growth parameters, visual scores, dry weight, leaf stomatal conductance, photosynthetic rate, chlorophyll contents decreased stress, was opposite the changes electrolyte leakage, malondialdehyde, proline, soluble sugar contents. Superoxide dismutase peroxidase activity trend differently among species. These results showed that threshold oxysepala most species, soil 2.83 followed viridiflora parviflora. Therefore, suitable planting as ground cover areas where applied.