Soil salinization and sodification as conditioners of vegetation and crops: Physiological aspects of plant response to these conditions

ANDRES ALBERTO RODRIGUEZ (CORRESPONDING AUTHOR); EDITH TALEISNIK

Intensified Land and Water Use - A Holistic Perspective of Local to Regional Integration

Springer Nature Switzerland AG

Año: 2021; p. 43 - 54

The type and characteristics of native and introduced vegetation prevailinginanyenvironmentorlandscapedependsonthefeaturesoftheelementsthatintegrateit (soil, groundwater, and geomorphology), as well as the way it is hydrologicallyassociatedtootherenvironments.Thenegativeeffectsofsoilsalinityandsodicityonplant growth and development condition the type of plants and their relative successinareasaffectedbythesefactors.Adaptedspeciesfeaturephysiologicalandmorpho-logical traits that enable them to prosper in those environments. Mechanisms relatedto salinity and alkalinity tolerance in plants are summarized in this chapter. Thosemechanisms, along with morphological adaptations (not addressed here), participatein determining the vegetation occupying areas affected by salinity and/or sodicity.Species-specific responses may result from distinct trait evolution induced by stress.Strong collaboration among scientists of different disciplines is required to under-takecomplementaryholisticstudiesthatcanintegrateinformationonplantfunctionaltraits with the environmental features of natural ecosystems.