Abstract
BackgroundSoil salinity is a major abiotic constraint to plant growth and development in the arid and semi-arid regions of the world. However, the influence of soil salinity on the process of nutrient resorption is not well known. We measured the pools of both mature and senesced leaf nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), and sodium (Na) of desert plants from two types of habitats with contrasting degrees of soil salinity in a hyper-arid environment of northwest China.ResultsN, P, K revealed strict resorption, whereas Na accumulated in senesced leaves. The resorption efficiencies of N, P, and K were positively correlated with each other but not with Na accumulation. The degree of leaf succulence drives both intra-and interspecific variation in leaf Na concentration rather than soil salinity. Both community- and species-level leaf nutrient resorption efficiencies (N, P, K) did not differ between the different habitats, suggesting that soil salinity played a weak role in influencing foliar nutrients resorption.ConclusionsOur results suggest that plants in hyper-arid saline environments exhibit strict salt ion regulation strategies to cope with drought and ion toxicity and meanwhile ensure the process of nutrient resorption is not affected by salinity.
Highlights
Soil salinity is a major abiotic constraint to plant growth and development in the arid and semi-arid regions of the world
Soil total N content was higher at the saline habitat (SH) than the gravel desert habitat (GDH), in contrast, there was no significant difference in soil total P and plant-available N and P content between the two types of habitats (Table 1)
Our study provides a test of the influence of soil salinity on nutrient resorption in a hyper-arid saline environment
Summary
Soil salinity is a major abiotic constraint to plant growth and development in the arid and semi-arid regions of the world. We measured the pools of both mature and senesced leaf nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), and sodium (Na) of desert plants from two types of habitats with contrasting degrees of soil salinity in a hyper-arid environment of northwest China. Wang et al BMC Plant Biology (2020) 20:461 be influenced by abiotic factors, including drought and salinity, which commonly occur in arid environments [7]. Soil salinity is one of the most devastating environmental stresses, which causes osmotic and ionic stress to plants, and both will impose nutrient limitation on plant growth [1]. To date, few studies have examined this issue in arid environments, where plant nutrient resorption was often decreased by drought [13], more attention should be paid to plants in arid saline environments
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