Summary
Plants of the salt marsh grass Spartina alterniflora Loisel were collected from North Carolina and grown under controlled nutrient, temperature, and photoperiod conditions. Plants were grown at two different illumination levels; substrate salinity was varied, and leaf photosynthesis, transpiration, total chlorophyll, leaf xylem pressure, and specific leaf weight were measured. Conditions were controlled so that gaseous and liquid phase resistances to CO2 diffusion could be calculated. Growth at low illumination and high salinity (30 ppt) resulted in a 50% reduction in photosynthesis. The reduction in photosynthesis of plants grown at low illumination was correlated with an increase in gaseous resistance. Photosynthetic rates of plants grown at high salinity and high illumination were reduced only slightly compared to rates of plants grown, in 10 ppt and Hoagland's solution. Both high salinity and high illumination were correlated with increases in specific leaf weight. Chlorophyll data indicate that specific leaf weight differences were the result of increases in leaf thickness. It is therefore hypothesized that photosynthetic response can be strongly influenced by salinity-induced changes in leaf structure. Similarities in photosynthetic rate on an area basis at high, illumination were apparently the result, of increases in leaf thickness at high salinity. Photosynthetic rates were generally quite high, even at salinities close to open ocean water, and it is concluded that salinity rarely limits photosynthesis in S. alterniflora.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ackerson, R.C., Younger, V.B.: Response of bermuda grass to salinity. Agron. J. 67, 678–681 (1975)
Adams, D.A.: Factors influencing vascular plant zonation in North Carolina, salt marshes. Ecology 44, 445–456 (1963)
Anderson, C.E.: A review of structure in several North Carolina salt marsh plants. In: Ecology of halophytes (R.J. Reimold, W.H. Queen, eds.), pp. 307–345. New York-London: Academic Press 1974
Arnon, D.I.: Copper enzymes in isolated chloroplasts. Polyphenoloxidase in Beta vulgaris. Plant Physiol. 24, 1–15 (1949)
Blackman, G.E.: Responses to environmental factors by plants in the vegetative phase. In: Growth in living systems (M.Y. Zarrow, ed.), pp. 525–556. New York: Basic Books 1960
Broome, S.W., Woodhouse, Jr. W.W., Seneca, E.D.: The relationship of mineral nutrients to growth of Spartina alterniflora in North Carolina: I. Nutrient status of plants and soils in natural stands. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. Proc. 39, 295–301 (1975)
Chabot, B.F., Chabot, J.F.: Effects of light and temperature on, leaf anatomy and photosynthesis in Fragaria vesca. Oecologia (Berl.) 26, 363–377 (1977)
Evans, G.C.: The quantitative analysis of plant growth, 734 pp. Berkeley: Univ. Calif. Press 1970
Gaastra, P.: Photosynthesis of crop plants as influenced by light, carbon dioxide, temperature and stomatal diffusion resistance. Landbouwhogesch. Wageningen, 59, 1–68 (1959)
Gale, J.: Water balance and gas exchange of plants under saline conditions In: Plants in saline environments, Ecological studies, Vol. 15 (A. Poljakoff-Mayber J. Gale, eds.), pp. 168–185. Berlin-Heidelberg-New York: Springer 1975
Gale, J., Kohl, H.C., Hagan, R.M.: Changes in the water balance and photosynthesis of onion, bean and cotton plants under saline conditions. Physiol. Plant 20, 408–420 (1967)
Hinde, H.P.: The vertical distribution of salt marsh phanerogams in relation to tide, levels. Ecol. Monogr. 24, 209–225 (1954)
Hoagland, D.R., Arnon, D.I.: The water-culture method for growing plants without soil. Calif. Agric. Expt. Sta. Circ. 347 (1950)
Jarvis, P.G.: The estimation of resistances to carbon dioxide transfer., In: Plant photosynthetic production, manual of methods (Z. Sestak, J. Catsky, P.G. Jarvis, eds.), pp. 566–622. The Hague: Junk 1971
Kaplan, A., Gale, J.: Effect of sodium chloride salinity on the water balance of Atriplex halimus. Aust. J. Biol. Sci. 25, 895–903 (1972)
Kleinkopf, G.E., Wallace, A., Hartsock, T.L.: Galenia pubescens — salt tolerant, drought-tolerant source of leaf protein. Plant Sci Letters 7, 313–320 (1976)
Kramer, P.J.: Plant and soil water relationships—a modern synthesis, 482 pp. New York: McGraw-Hill 1969
Mallot, P.G., Davy, A.J., Jefferies, R.L., Hutton, M.J.: Carbon dioxide exchange in leaves of Spartina anglica Hubbard. Oecologia (Berl.) 20, 351–358 (1975)
Mooring, M.T., Cooper, A.W., Seneca, E.D.: Seed germination response and evidence for height ecophenes in Spartina alterniflora from North Carolina. Am. J. Bot. 58, 48–55 (1971)
Nelson, C.J., Asay, K.H., Horst, G.L., Hildebrand, E.S.: Field measurement of photosynthesis in a forage grass breeding program Crop. Sci. 14, 26–28 (1974)
Nixon, S.W., Oviatt, C.A.: Analysis of local variation in the standing crop of Spartina alterniflora. Bot. Mar. 16, 103–109 (1973)
Nobel, P.S.: Introduction to biophysical plant physiology, 488 pp. San Francisco: W.H. Freeman and Company 1974
Nobel, P.S.: Photosynthetic rates of sun versus shade leaves of Hyptis emoryi Torr. Plant Physiol. 58, 218–223 (1976)
Patterson, D.T., Bunce, J.A., Alberte, R.S., Van Volkenburgh, E.: Photosynthesis in relation to leaf characteristics of cotton from controlled and field environments. Plant Physiol. 59, 384–387 (1977)
Phleger, C.G.: Effects of salinity on growth of a salt marsh grass. Ecology 52, 908–911 (1971)
Poljakoff-Mayber, A.: Morphological and anatomical changes in plants as a response to salinity stress. In: Plants in saline environments, Ecological studies, Vol. 15 A. Poljakoff-Mayber, J. Gale, eds.), pp. 97–117. Berlin-Heidelberg-New York: Springer 1975
Wignarajah, K., Jennings, D.H., Handley, J.F.: The effect of salinity on growth of Phaseolus vulgaris. L. I. Anatomical changes in the first trifoliate leaf. Ann. Bot. 39, 1029–1038 (1975)
Woolf, C.M.: Principles of biometry, 359 pp. Princeton: Van Nostrand 1968
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Longstreth, D.J., Strain, B.R. Effects of salinity and illumination on photosynthesis and water balance of Spartina alterniflora Loisel. Oecologia 31, 191–199 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00346920
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00346920