Limoniastrum guyonianum behavior under seasonal conditions fluctuations of Sabkha Aïn Maïder (Tunisia)

Abstract

In Sabkha biotope, several environmental factors (i.e., salinity, drought, temperature, etc.) especially during dry season affect halophytes developments. To cope with these harmful conditions, halophytes use multiple mechanisms of adaptations. In this study, we focused on the effect of environmental condition changes over a year in the Sabkha of Aïn Maïder (Medenine - Tunisia) on the physiological and biochemical behavior of Limoniastrum guyonianum using a modeling approach. Our study showed that the model depicted well (R2 > 0.75) the monthly fluctuations of the studied parameters in this habitat. During the dry period (June to September), the salinity of the soil increased remarkably (high level of EC and Na+ content), resulting in high Na+ content in the aerial parts followed by a nutrient deficiency in K+, Ca2+, and Mg2+. As a result of this disruption, L. guyonianum decreased its water potential to more negative values to maintain osmotic potential using inorganic osmolytes (i.e., Na+) and organic osmolytes (i.e., sugars: sucrose, fructose, glucose, and xylitol, and organic acids: citric and malic acids). In addition, CO2 assimilation rate, stomatal conductance, transpiration rate, and photosynthetic pigments decreased significantly with increasing salinity. The phenolic compounds contents and the antioxidant activity increased significantly in the dry period as a result of increased levels of H2O2 and lipid peroxidation. This increase was highly correlated with soil salinity and air temperature. The maintenance of tissue hydration (i.e., moderate decrease of relative water content), the accumulation of sugars and organic acids, the enhancement of phenolic compounds amounts, and the increase of antioxidant activity during the dry period suggest that L. guyonianum possesses an efficient tolerance mechanism that allows the plant to withstand the seasonal fluctuations of climatic conditions in its natural biotope.