Morphological and biochemical traits of four halophytes of the genus Limonium were analysed in plants sampled from salt marshes in SE Spain. This work aimed to explore the mechanism(s) behind the adaptation of these species to stressful habitats, with particular emphasis on responses to drought. Plants of each species together with soil samples were collected in summer, which is the most stressful season in the Mediterranean. Soil parameters and plant morphological traits were determined, and the levels of several biochemical stress markers in plants were measured using spectrophotometric assays. A multivariate analysis was performed to correlate soil and plant data. Morphological characteristics regarding the underground system topology and several biochemical traits (higher foliar Ca2+, sucrose and glucose, and lower proline, glycine-betaine and fructose) clearly separate L. santapolense individuals from plants of the other three species. Drought tolerance of L. santapolense in the field is mostly dependent on morphological adaptations: when growing in an arid location, plants of this species develop long taproots that can extract water from the deep, moist layers of the soil.

中文翻译：

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Limonium 物种在其自然栖息地的生理和形态特征：洞察其非生物胁迫反应

在从西班牙东南部盐沼取样的植物中分析了 Limonium 属的四种盐生植物的形态和生化特征。这项工作旨在探索这些物种适应压力栖息地背后的机制，特别强调对干旱的反应。每个物种的植物和土壤样本都是在夏季收集的，这是地中海地区压力最大的季节。确定了土壤参数和植物形态特征，并使用分光光度法测量了植物中几种生化胁迫标记物的水平。进行了多变量分析以关联土壤和植物数据。关于地下系统拓扑结构和几个生化特征（较高的叶面 Ca2+、蔗糖和葡萄糖以及较低的脯氨酸、甘氨酸-甜菜碱和果糖）清楚地将 L. santapolense 个体与其他三个物种的植物区分开来。L. santapolense 在田间的耐旱性主要取决于形态适应性：在干旱地区生长时，该物种的植物会长出长根，可以从深而潮湿的土壤层中提取水分。