Sodium relations in desert plants. V. Cation balance when grown in solution culture and in the field in three species of Lycium from the northern Mojave desert

Journal Article · Thu Jul 01 04:00:00 EDT 1976 · Soil Sci.; (United States)

OSTI ID:7267095

Ashcroft, R T; Wallace, A

Three species of Lycium (wolfberry or desert thorn) are indicators of saline conditions of the soils of the northern Mojave Desert on which they grow and range from a halophyte (Lycium shockleyi Gray) to a partial halophyte (Lycium pallidum Miers) to a nonhalophyte (Lycium andersonii Gray). Each species was grown in nutrient solutions with varying Na levels to determine if the differential responses to cations in the field were reproducible in the glasshouse. The differences in Na, K, and Ca contents of leaves of L. andersonii, L. pallidum, and L. shockleyi grown in nutrient solution with varying cation levels were similar to those for plants grown in the field. L. shockleyi accumulated large quantities of Na in leaves when supplied irrespective of the level of Na or of K and Ca in the nutrient substrate. Root and leaf analyses indicate that L. andersonii is a poor accumulator of Na and that the other two Lycium species transport Na to shoots rather than retain it in roots. A high level of NaCl in the nutrient substrate resulted in increased total cations in all three species; in L. shockleyi the increase was the result of an increased Na, but in L. andersonii it was due to increased Ca. There was no relationship in total cation contents of the plants with total contents of N + P + Cl (me basis as ions are absorbed by plants). In whole plants collected from the field, high cation concentrations in leaves were related to differential distribution among plant parts for the three species so that leaf differences were compensated for without differences on the whole plant basis.

• Research Organization: Univ. of California, Los Angeles
• OSTI ID: 7267095
• Journal Information: Soil Sci.; (United States), Journal Name: Soil Sci.; (United States) Vol. 122:1; ISSN SOSCA
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

550500* -- Metabolism
59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
ALKALI METAL COMPOUNDS
ALKALI METALS
ALKALINE EARTH METALS
ARID LANDS
BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS
BIOLOGICAL INDICATORS
BIOMASS
CALCIUM
CHLORIDES
CHLORINE COMPOUNDS
DESERTS
ECOLOGY
ELEMENTS
ENERGY SOURCES
GROWTH
HALIDES
HALOGEN COMPOUNDS
LEAVES
METALS
NUTRIENTS
PLANTS
POTASSIUM
RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES
ROOTS
SALINITY
SODIUM
SODIUM CHLORIDES
SODIUM COMPOUNDS
SOILS