Abstract

Salinity is a widespread soil and underground water contaminant threatening food security and economic stability. Phytoremediation is an efficient and environmental-friendly solution to mitigate salinity impacts. The present study was conducted to evaluate the phytoremediation potential of five multipurpose trees: Vachellia nilotica, Concorpus erectus, Syzygium cumini, Tamarix aphylla and Eucalyptus cammaldulensis under four salinity treatments: Control, 10, 20 and 30 dS m⁻¹. Salinity negatively impacted all the tested species. However, E. cammaldulensis and T. aphylla exhibited the lowest reduction (28%) and (35%) in plant height respectively along with a minimal reduction in leaf gas exchange while V. nilotica, S. cumini and C. erectus showed severe dieback. Similarly, the antioxidant enzymes increased significantly in E. cammaldulensis and T. aphylla as Superoxide Dismutase (87% and 79%), Catalase (66% and 67%) and Peroxidase (89% and 81%), respectively. Furthermore, both of these species maintained optimum Na/K ratio reducing the highest levels of soil EC_e and SAR, suggesting the best phytoremediation potential. The present study identifies that E. cammaldulensis and T. aphylla showed effective tolerance mechanisms and the highest salt sequestration; therefore, may be used for phyto-amelioration of salinity impacted lands.

Novelty statement Although previous studies evaluated the tolerance potential of many tree species, comparative and physiochemical evaluation of multipurpose tree species has been remained unexplored. In this scenario, eco-physiological characterization of multipurpose tree species may inform tree species for phytoremediation of saline soils according to the level of salinity. Optimizing tree species selection also improves the success of wood for energy and revenue generation while restoring degraded soils.

摘要

盐分是一种普遍存在的土壤和地下水污染物，威胁着粮食安全和经济稳定。植物修复是减轻盐度影响的有效且环保的解决方案。本研究旨在评估五种多用途树木的植物修复潜力：Vachellia nilotica、Concorpus直立、Syzygium cumini、Tamarix aphylla和Eucalyptus cammaldulensis在四种盐度处理下：对照、10、20 和 30 dS m ^-1。盐度对所有测试物种产生负面影响。然而，E。cammaldulensis和T . 无叶V. nilotica、S. cumini和C.挺立分别表现出最低的植株高度降低 (28%) 和 (35%)，同时叶片气体交换的降低最小。同样，抗氧化酶在E 中显着增加。cammaldulensis和T . aphylla 分别为超氧化物歧化酶 (87% 和 79%)、过氧化氢酶 (66% 和 67%) 和过氧化物酶 (89% 和 81%)。此外，这两个物种都保持了最佳的 Na/K 比，降低了土壤 EC _e和 SAR的最高水平，表明植物修复潜力最佳。本研究确定E. cammaldulensis和T. aphylla显示出有效的耐受机制和最高的盐封存量；因此，可用于盐分影响土地的植物改良。

新颖性声明尽管以前的研究评估了许多树种的耐受潜力，但对多用途树种的比较和理化评估仍未进行探索。在这种情况下，多用途树种的生态生理特征可以根据盐度水平为植物修复盐渍土壤的树种提供信息。优化树种选择还可以提高木材在能源和创收方面的成功率，同时恢复退化的土壤。