Identification of saline resistance traits of invasive plants has received little study and could reveal how some plant species utilize salt to encroach upon salinized landscapes. We conducted a 3-mo greenhouse study to identify saline resistance mechanisms of three North American invasive Brassicaceae species, Lepidium latifolium, L. draba, and L. alyssoides, in response to increasing salinity. Seedlings of central and southern New Mexico, USA populations were exposed to NaCl irrigation solutions at 0, − 0.1, and − 0.2 MPa (0, 24, and 48 mM, respectively). Saline resistance of these populations was attributable to salt tolerance behavior commonly observed as signature traits of halophytes, including a combined Na and Cl accumulation in leaves of up to 13% of dry weight with no injury, dominance of leaves as the salt accumulation site, leaf tissue water Na and Cl at ≈ 300–400 mM, leaf K:Na molar ratio of less than 1, and the development of leaf succulence. In saline environments, high salt loads in shoots may increase soil salinity through annual litter fall and potentially alter vegetation community structure. A broader implication of this study is in the need to detect salt resistant traits of additional plant species to broaden the narrow understanding of how salinity affects vegetation communities.

入侵植物的耐盐性特征的鉴定研究还很少，可能揭示某些植物物种如何利用盐侵蚀盐碱化的景观。我们进行了3月龄温室研究，以确定的北美三个侵入种十字花科，耐盐性机制宽叶独行菜，L.葶和L. alyssoides响应盐度增高。美国新墨西哥州中部和南部种群的幼苗暴露于0，-0.1和-0.2 MPa（分别为0、24和48 mM）的NaCl灌溉溶液中。这些人群的耐盐性归因于耐盐性通常作为盐生植物的特征而观察到的行为，包括Na和Cl的组合在叶片中的积累，最高达干重的13％，无损伤，叶片作为盐积累部位的优势，叶片组织中Na和Cl的含量约为300-400 mM，叶片K：Na摩尔比小于1，且叶片肉质发达。在盐碱环境中，芽中高盐分可能会通过每年的凋落物增加土壤盐分，并可能改变植被群落结构。这项研究的广泛含义是需要检测其他植物物种的耐盐性状，以拓宽对盐分如何影响植被群落的狭义认识。