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Nutrients Have a Different Impact on the Salt Tolerance of Two Coexisting Suaeda Species in the Yellow River Delta

  • Degradation and Ecological Restoration of Estuarine Wetlands in China
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Abstract

Suaeda species are widely distributed in the coastal areas and are commonly selected as candidates for coastal saline–alkaline soil restoration. In this study, a pot experiment was carried out to investigate the effects of different nutrient levels and salt stresses on the growth and physiological characteristics of Suaeda salsa and Suaeda glauca, two coexisting species exhibiting a spatial segregation in the Yellow River Delta (YRD), China. Our results showed that both Suaeda species can adapt to a high salinity environment (21 g kg−1 NaCl) and display similar regulation strategies, including increased shoot–root ratio, maintaining leaf succulence, and relying on proline and metal ions as osmotic regulators. However, nutrients had a different impact on the salt tolerance of the two species. Under low soil salinity levels, nutrient addition was more beneficial for S. salsa, while under high soil salinity levels, nutrient addition was more beneficial for S. glauca. Our results reveal that the spatial segregation of the two Suaeda species was not driven by salinity. Both species can be used in coastal restoration projects for their high salt-tolerant abilities, but the nutrient addition management should be specific to the species and site soil levels.

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Acknowledgments

This research was funded by the Key Research and Development Program of Shandong Province (2019GSF109070), the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2017YFC0505905), and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31770361; 31970347). We thank Zhaowei He and Feng Wang for field and lab assistance, and Huijia Song for suggestions that improved the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Ecology and Biodiversity, School of Life Sciences, Shandong University, 72 Binhai Road, Qingdao, 266237, China

    Qi-Hui Zhang, Kulihong Sairebieli, Ming-Ming Zhao, Xiao-Han Sun, Xiao-Na Yu, Ning Du & Wei-Hua Guo

  2. Shandong Provincial Engineering and Technology Research Center for Vegetation Ecology, Shandong University, 72 Binhai Road, Qingdao, 266237, China

    Qi-Hui Zhang, Kulihong Sairebieli, Ming-Ming Zhao, Xiao-Han Sun, Xiao-Na Yu, Ning Du & Wei-Hua Guo

  3. Qingdao Forest Ecology Research Station of National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Shandong University, 72 Binhai Road, Qingdao, 266237, China

    Qi-Hui Zhang, Kulihong Sairebieli, Ming-Ming Zhao, Xiao-Han Sun, Xiao-Na Yu, Ning Du & Wei-Hua Guo

  4. First Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resource, 6 Xianxialing Road, Qingdao, 266061, China

    Wei Wang

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  1. Qi-Hui Zhang
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Zhang, QH., Sairebieli, K., Zhao, MM. et al. Nutrients Have a Different Impact on the Salt Tolerance of Two Coexisting Suaeda Species in the Yellow River Delta. Wetlands 40, 2811–2823 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-020-01382-6

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