Provenance matters: variability under saline stress in young plants of four populations of a Prosopis (mesquite) species from dry forests of Argentina

VENIER PAULA; FUNES GUILLERMO; TEICH INGRID; LÓPEZ LAUENSTEIN DIEGO; RAMIRO LASCANO

CANADIAN JOURNAL OF FOREST RESEARCH

NATL RESEARCH COUNCIL CANADA-N R C RESEARCH PRESS

Lugar: Otawa; Año: 2021 vol. 51 p. 1263 - 1270

0045-5067

Planting of native perennial woody species tolerant to variable salt concentrations can facilitate the recovery of degraded dry forests. The objective was to evaluate and compare the response to saline stress on experimentally controlled conditions of young plants from four provenances of Prosopis alba, a mesquite species useful for restoration plans. They were from different localities of the Chaco Region of Argentina (Santiago del Estero, Chaco, Formosa and Salta) and were evaluated for 45 days under greenhouse controlled growth conditions at 0, 100 and 300 mM NaCl. We measured variables associated with growth, photosynthesis and redox state. The imposed salt stress condition did not cause plant death in any provenance. However, salinity produced a strong effect on growth and physiological variables of all provenances. Salta provenance was associated to higher net values of biomass and stem diameter. Chaco registered the greatest relative values of height and stem diameter, indicating a higher salinity tolerance than the other provenances; also it produced more antioxidants, to cope with the oxidative stress associated to saline stress. Chaco and Salta could be the most promising provenances to use in restoration plans of dry forests in areas with saline soils in the Chaco region. We emphasize the importance of use different provenances in forest restoration for a more successful system recovery.