An Ex Situ Salinity Restoration Assessment Using Legume, Saltbush, and Grass in Australian Soil

Abstract

Shoot and root water content, shoot/root biomass ratio, and plant height were measured in Melilotus siculus (Fabaceae), Tecticornia pergranulata (Amaranthaceae: Chenopodiodeae), and Thinopyrum ponticum (Poaceae) to determine their growth performance in a glasshouse – pot trial using salinity levels of 0.0, 2.5, and 5.0 dS m−1. The following indices, total‐ion accumulation (TIA), bioaccumulation factor (BF), translocation factor (TF), and bioconcentration factor (BCF) of Na+ and Cl− were also measured enabling the evaluation of the remediation capacity of these plants. With increasing salinity in soil, total Na+ and Cl− accumulation increased in the tested plants in the following order: T. pergranulata > M. siculus > T. ponticum. T. pergranulata had the maximal phytoextraction capacity of Na+ and Cl−. The BF and BCF values of Na+ and Cl− were >1 in the plants tested in different salinity treatments. The TF value of Cl− was >1 for these tested plants, whereas the TF value of Na+ was >1 in T. pergranulata and M. siculus and it <1 in T. ponticum. T. pergranulata and M. siculus performed the best, accumulating more of Na+ and Cl−, and therefore they appear to be the candidates‐of‐choice for phytoremediation of saline sites in central western New South Wales, Australia.