Germination response to osmotic potential, osmotic agents, and temperature of five halophytes occurring along a salinity gradient

Abstract

Premise of research. Halophyte species grow where salt concentrations are high. Still, their germination may be affected by salts, either by creating an osmotic potential that prevents water uptake or by dissociating in ions that can cause different grades of toxicity. With the increase of salinized areas, it becomes important to understand the behavior of these species. Methodology. We studied how the germination of five halophyte species that occur along a salinity gradient in the Bahía Blanca coastal zone, Atriplex undulata, Cyclolepis genistoides, Allenrolfea patagonica, Sarcocornia perennis, and Heterostachys ritteriana, responds to variations in osmotic agents, osmotic potential, and temperature. Seeds were exposed to different osmotic potentials using NaCl (neutral salt), Na2CO3 (alkaline salt), and mannitol solutions in a germination chamber experiment. Germination was recorded during 42 d. Germination percentage, mean germination time, and synchrony were calculated. Pivotal results. Our experimental results showed that for the five halophyte species under study, germination was mostly driven by osmotic potentials and osmotic agents. At high osmotic potential, the germination response did not differ significantly from controls, except for Allenrolfea and Cyclolepis, which showed lower germination when treated with Na2CO3. Low osmotic potentials and Na2CO3 were detrimental to germination, reflected by lower germination percentages, higher mean germination times, and lower synchrony. Conclusions. In general, the response to the alkaline salt was more negative than that to the neutral salt or mannitol, regardless of the species. Each species showed a different response to the salts under study, and this response matched well with the distribution of species along the salinity gradient observed in the field.