We examined patterns of habitat function (plant species richness), productivity (plant aboveground biomass and total C), and nutrient stocks (N and P in aboveground plant biomass and soil) in tidal marshes of the Satilla, Altamaha, and Ogeechee Estuaries in Georgia, USA. We worked at two sites within each salinity zone (fresh, brackish, and saline) in each estuary, sampling a transect from the ...

Soil salinity is one of the most severe factors limiting nodulation, yield and physiological response in soybean. The possible role of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) in restricting mineral nutrients and thus alleviating soil salinity stress during plant growth has not yet been established. In this study, the beneficial effects of inoculation with salt-stressed PGPR strains were inv...

Production of heteromorphic seeds is common in halophytes growing in arid environments with strong spatial and temporal heterogeneity. However, evidence for geographic variation (reflecting local adaptation) is almost nonexistent. Our primary aims were to compare the life history traits of two desert populations of this halophytic summer annual Suaeda corniculata subsp. mongolica and to investi...

Nutrient enrichment of the coastal zone places intense pressure on marine communities. Previous studies have shown that growth of intertidal mangrove forests is accelerated with enhanced nutrient availability. However, nutrient enrichment favours growth of shoots relative to roots, thus enhancing growth rates but increasing vulnerability to environmental stresses that adversely affect plant wat...

In arid irrigated regions, the proportion of crop production under deficit irrigation with poorer quality water is increasing as demand for fresh water soars and efforts to prevent saline water table development occur. Remote sensing technology to quantify salinity and water stress effects on forage yield can be an important tool to address yield loss potential when deficit irrigating with poor...

Drought and salinity are major factors limiting agriculture in many regions in the world, and their importance is predicted to even increase in the near future in parallel with the ongoing global warming and climate changes. Soil and rhizosphere microbes are potential resources for counteracting such abiotic stresses in plants. The knowledge on the roles of root microorganisms in retaining soil...

introduction soil salinity is a major limiting factor in agricultural development within iran. nitrogen is the most important nutrient that its uptake is limited over other elements under saline conditions due to decrease in the permeability of plant roots, soil microbial activity and mineralization of organic compounds and nitrate uptake by high concentrations of chloride anions in the root zo...

Atriplex halimus L. (Amaranthaceae) (Mediterranean Saltbush) is a perennial, halophytic shrub that possesses the C4 photosynthetic anatomy and physiology. It grows under semi-arid and arid conditions (annual rainfall < 600 mm) from Macaronesia, through the Mediterranean basin countries and into western Asia, being particularly common on saline and degraded soils. Many studies have shed light on...

soil salinity affects ions concentrationss of plant tissues and this may alter the merits quality of medicinal plants. experiments were conducted during 2003 at the the isfahan university of technology campus, isfahan, iran, to assess the effects of five soil salinity levels (3.2, 3.6, 4.5, 5.4 and 7.5 ds m-1) on na, k, and ca contents of borage and echium. each plant species was studied in a s...

Feedbacks of terrestrial ecosystems to atmospheric and climate change depend on soil ecosystem dynamics. Soil ecosystems can directly and indirectly respond to climate change. For example, warming directly alters microbial communities by increasing their activity. Climate change may also alter plant community composition, thus indirectly altering the soil communities that depend on their inputs...