Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Halophytes and Salt Desertification in the Aralkum Area

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Book cover Aralkum - a Man-Made Desert

Part of the book series: Ecological Studies ((ECOLSTUD,volume 218))

Abstract

The Aralkum region is a biodiversity centre of halophytes in Middle Asia and Central Asia. Plants have developed various mechanisms to cope with salinity. Often morphological structures are typical for distinct adaptation strategies. Especially halosucculence of stems or leaves, or both, is very common in halophytes strongly adapted to salinity. It is obvious that leaf and stem succulents, such as species from the genera Suaeda, Salicornia and Halocnemum, accumulate considerably more Na+ and Cl– (3,000–5,000 mmol/kg) in comparison with other species. The ionic contents (Na+ and Cl–) of Climacoptera species and of Ofaiston monandrum are lower (2,000–3,500 mmol/kg) in comparison with those of species from Salicornia and Suaeda. Even lower are the values from Petrosimonia triandra. On the other hand, the Na+ and Cl– accumulation of pseudohalophytes such as Euclidium syriacum and Stripagrostis pennata is very low. The invasion of the desiccated seafloor by halophytic species occurs under climatic conditions which are rather variable from year to year. The halophytic species, nevertheless, are on the other hand indicators of the degree of salinity at their site, and thus can be used to monitor salinity. A novel list of indicator values for salinity is presented. All species of the Aralkum flora are listed in Table 12.10 with their ecological salinity indicator value (S value), their halophytic strategy type, and their life form.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 169.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Adam P (1990) Saltmarsh ecology. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Agachanjanz OE, Breckle S-W (1994) Umweltsituation in der ehemaligen Sowjetunion. Naturwiss Rdschau 47:99–106

    Google Scholar 

  • Albert R (1982) Halophyten. In: Kinzel H (ed) Pflanzenökologie und Mineralstoffwechsel. Ulmer, Stuttgart, pp 33–215

    Google Scholar 

  • Albert R (2005) Das Physiotypen-Konzept – ein Modell zur Erklärung ökophysiologischer Anpassungen? In Veste M, Wucherer W, Homeier J (eds) Ökologische Forschung im globalen Kontext. Cuvillier, Göttingen, pp 1–23

    Google Scholar 

  • Balnokin YuV, Myasoedov NA, Baburina OK, Wucherer W (1991) Ion content of Na+, Cl−, S and proline in tissues from halophytes from soils with differing salinity on the dry sea floor of the Aral Sea. Probl Osv Pustyn‘, Ashkhabad 2:70–78 (in Russian)

    Google Scholar 

  • Berger-Landefeldt U (1959) Beiträge zur Ökologie der Pflanzen nordafrikanischer Salzpfannen. Vegetatio 9:1–48

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Black RF (1954) The leaf anatomy of Australian members of the genus Atriplex I. Atriplex vesicaria Heward and A. nummularia Lindl. Aust J Bot 2:269–286

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Breckle S-W (1975a) Ionengehalte halophiler Pflanzen Spaniens. Decheniana (Bonn) 127:221–228

    Google Scholar 

  • Breckle S-W (1975b) Wasser- und Salzverhältnisse bei Halophyten der Salzsteppe in Utah/USA. Ber Dtsch Bot Ges 87:589–600

    Google Scholar 

  • Breckle S-W (1976) Zur Ökologie und zu den Mineralstoffverhältnissen absalzender und nichtabsalzender Xerohalophyten, Diss. Bot., Cramer, Vaduz 35, 1–176

    Google Scholar 

  • Breckle S-W (1982) The significance of salinity. In: Spooner B, Mann HS (eds) Desertification and development: dryland ecology in social perspective. Academic, London, pp 277–292

    Google Scholar 

  • Breckle S-W (1985) Die siebenbürgische Halophytenflora – Ökologie und ihre pflanzengeographische Einordnung. Siebenbürgisches Archiv, 3 Folge 20:53–105

    Google Scholar 

  • Breckle S-W (1986) Studies on halophytes from Iran and Afganistan. II. Ecology of halophytes along salt gradients. Proc R Soc Edinb 89B:203–215

    Google Scholar 

  • Breckle SW (1989) Role of salinity and alkalinity in the pollution of developed and developing countries. In: Öztürk MA (ed) International symposium on the effect of pollutants to plants in developed and developing countries in Izmir/Turkey, 22-28 August 1988, pp 389-409

    Google Scholar 

  • Breckle S-W (1990) Salinity tolerance of different halophyte types. Plant Soil 148:167–175

    Google Scholar 

  • Breckle S-W (1992) Salinity-stress and salt-recretion in plants. Bielefelder Ökologische Beiträge (BÖB) 6:39–52

    Google Scholar 

  • Breckle S-W (1995) How do halophytes overcome salinity? In: Khan MA, Ungar IA (eds) Biology of salt tolerant plants. Book Graffers, Chelsea, pp 199–213

    Google Scholar 

  • Breckle S-W (2002a) Salinity, halophytes and salt affected natural ecosystems. In: Läuchli A, Lüttge U (eds) Salinity: environment – plants – molecules. Kluwer, Dordrecht, pp 53–77

    Google Scholar 

  • Breckle S-W (2002b) Salt deserts in Iran and Afghanistan. In: Böer B, Barth H-J (eds) Sabkha ecosystems. Kluwer, Dordrecht, pp 109–122

    Google Scholar 

  • Breckle SW (2005) Naturwissenschaftliche Neugierde, 40 Jahre ökologisch-geobotanische Forschung – Rückblick und Ausblick. In: Veste M, Wucherer W, HomeierJ (eds) Ökologische Forschung im globalen Kontext. Festschrift zum 65. Geburtstag von Prof. Dr. S.-W. Breckle, pp 273–310

    Google Scholar 

  • Breckle S-W, Agachanjanz OE (1994) Ökologie der Erde, vol 3, 2nd edn, Spezielle Ökologie der gemäßigten und arktischen Zonen Euro-Nordasiens. Fischer, Stuttgart

    Google Scholar 

  • Breckle S-W, Wucherer W (2007) What will be the future of the Aral Sea? In: Lozan JL (ed) GLOBAL CHANGE: enough water for all? Wissenschaftliche Auswertungen GEO, Hamburg, pp 142–146

    Google Scholar 

  • Breckle S-W, Wucherer W, Scheffer A (2001) Halophytes on the dry sea floor of the Aral Sea. In: Breckle S-W, Veste M, Wucherer W (eds) Sustainable land-use in deserts. Springer, Heidelberg, pp 139–146

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Curtin D, Steppuhn H, Selles F (1993) Plant response to sulfate and chloride salkinity: growth and ionic relations. Soil Sci Soc Am J 57:1304–1310

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Dregne HE (1986) Desertification of arid lands. In: El-Baz F, Hassan MHA (eds) Physics of desertification. Nijhoff, Dordrecht

    Google Scholar 

  • Ellenberg H, Weber HE, Düll R et al (1991) Zeigerwerte von Pflanzen in Mitteleuropa. Scripta Geobotanica 18:248

    Google Scholar 

  • Flowers TJ, Yeo AR (1995) Breeding for salinkty resutsnace in crop plants: where next? Aust J Plant Physiol 22:875–884

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Frey-Wissling A (1935) Die Stoffausscheidung der Höheren Pflanzen. Springer, Berlin

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Geldyeva GV, Budnikova TI, Gobernik IA et al (1998) Assessment of desertification processes in natural complexes of the Syrdarya delta. UNESCO Aral Sea Project, 15–41

    Google Scholar 

  • Glazovskii NF, Orlovskii NS (1996) The problems of the desertification and droughts in GUS and the ways of their solution. Izv Akad Nauk Ser Geogr 4:7–23 (in Russian)

    Google Scholar 

  • Hammer UT (1986) Saline lake ecosystems of the world. Junk, Dordrecht

    Google Scholar 

  • Hedenström Hv, Breckle S-W (1974) Obligate halophytes? A test with tissue culture methods. Z Pflanzenphys 74:183–185

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jacobsen T, Adams RM (1958) Salt and silt in Ancient Mesopotamian agriculture. Science 128:1251–1258

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Law JP, Hornsby AG (1982) The Colorado river salinity problem. Water Supply Manage 6:87–103

    Google Scholar 

  • Metternicht G, Zinck A (2008) Remote sensing of soil salinization: Impact on land management. Taylor & Francis, CRC Press, Boca Raton

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Mirazai NA, Breckle S-W (1978) Untersuchungen an afghanischen Halophyten I. Salzverhältnisse in Chenopodiaceen Nord-Afghanistans. Bot Jahrb Syst 99:565–578

    Google Scholar 

  • Moore RT, Breckle S-W, Caldwell MM (1972) Mineral ion composition and osmotic relations of Atriplex confertifolia and Eurotia lanata. Oecologia 11:67–78

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Munns R (1993) Physiological processes limiting plant growth in saline soils: some dogmas and hypotheses. Plant Cell Environ 16:15–24

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Munns R, Schachtmann DP, Condon AG (1995) The significance of a two-phase growth response to salinity in wheat and barley. Aust J Plant Physiol 22:561–569

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Naik PS, Widholm JM (1993) Comparison of tissue culture and whole plant response to salinity in potato. Plant Cell Tissue Organ Cult 33:273–280

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Novikova NM, Kust GS, Kuzmina JV et al (1998) Contemporary plant and soil cover changes in the Amudarya and Syrdarya river deltas. UNESCO Aral Sea Project, 81–91

    Google Scholar 

  • Oldeman LR (1994) The global extent of soil degradation. In: Greenland DJ, Szabolcs I (eds) Soil resilience and sustainable land use. CAB International, Wallingford, pp 99–118

    Google Scholar 

  • Pollak G, Waisel Y (1979) Ecophysiology of salt excretion in Aeluropus litoralis (Gramineae). Physiol Plant 47:177–184

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Popp M (1985) Osmotic adaptation in Australian mangroves. Vegetatio 61:247–253

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ramani S, Apte SK (1997) Transient expression of multiple genes in salinity-stressed young seedlings of rice (Oryza sativa L.) cv. Bura Rata. Biochem Biophys Res Comm 233:663–667

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Reimann C, Breckle S-W (1993) Sodium relations in Chenopodiaceae, a comparative approach. Plant Cell Environ 16:323–328

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rhoades JD (1990) Soil salinity – causes and controls. In: Andrew Goudie A (ed) Techniques for desert reclamation. Wiley, New York, pp 109–134

    Google Scholar 

  • Schirmer U, Breckle S-W (1982) The role of bladders for salt removal in some Chenopodiaceae (mainly Atriplex species). In: Sen DN, Rajpurohit KS (eds) Tasks for vegetation science, vol 2. Junk, The Hague, pp 215–231

    Google Scholar 

  • Sheridan D (1981) Desertification of the United States. Council on Environmental Quality, Washington, DC

    Google Scholar 

  • Shiati K (1991) Salinity management in river basins; modelling and management of the salt-affected Jarreh reservoir (Iran). Proefschrift, Wageningen

    Google Scholar 

  • Shomer-Ilan A, Nissenbaum A, Waisel Y (1981) Photosynthetic pathways and the ecological distribution of the Chenopodiaceae in Israel. Oecologia 48:244–248

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Singh G (2009) Salinity-related desertification and management strategies: Indian experience. Land Degradation Dev 20:367–385

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Teakle LJH (1937) The salt (sodium chloride) content of rain water. J Agric Dept W Aust 14:115–133

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tobe K, Li X, Omasa K (2004) Effects of five different salts on seed germination and seedling growth of Haloxylon ammodendron (Chenopodiaceae). Seed Sci Res 14:345–353

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tobe K, Li X, Omasa K (2005) Effects of irrigation on seedlings emergence and seedlings survival of a desert shrub Haloxylon ammodendron (Chenopodiaceae). Aust J Bot 53:529–534

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ungar IA (1996) Effect of salinity on seed germination, growth, and ion accumulation of Atriplex patula (Chenopodiaceae). Am J Bot 83:604–607

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Waisel Y (1972) Biology of halophytes. Academic, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Waisel Y (2001) Salinity: a major enemy of sustainable agriculture. In: Breckle SW, Veste M, Wucherer W (eds) Sustainable land use in deserts. Springer, Berlin, pp 166–173

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Walter H (1968) Die Vegetation der Erde in ökophysiologischer Betrachtung. II. Die gemäßigten und arktischen Zonen. Fischer, Stuttgart

    Google Scholar 

  • Wichelns D (1999) An economic model of waterlogging and salinization in arid regions. Ecol Econ 30:475–491

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wiehe W, Breckle S-W (1989) Die Ontogenese der Salzdrüsen von Limonium (Plumbaginaceae). Bot Acta 103:107–110

    Google Scholar 

  • Winicov I, Bastola DR (1997) Salt tolerance in crop plants; new approaches through tissue culture and gene regulation. Acta Physiol Plantar 19:435–449

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wucherer W (1986) The spreading of Suaeda acuminata (C.A. Mey.) Moq. in Kazakhstan. In: Baitenov MS, Vasyagina MP (eds) Botanical materials of the herbarium of the Institute of Botany. Nauka, Alma–Ata, pp 38–39

    Google Scholar 

  • Wucherer W, Breckle S-W, Dimeyeva L (2001) Flora of the dry sea floor of the Aral Sea. In: Breckle S-W, Veste M, Wucherer W (eds) Sustainable land-use in deserts. Springer, Heidelberg, pp 38–51

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Yang X, Zhang K, Jia B, Ci L (2005) Desertification assessment in China: an overview. J Arid Environ 62:517–531

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ecology, University of Bielefeld, Bielefeld, Germany

    S-W. Breckle

  2. Foundation for Nature Protection, Institute of Botany and Landscape Ecology, University of Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany

    W. Wucherer

Authors
  1. S-W. Breckle
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. W. Wucherer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Fakultät für Biologie, Abteilung 3 - Ökologie, Universität Bielefeld, Bielefeld, Germany

    Siegmar-W. Breckle

  2. Michael Succow Foundation, University of Greifswald, Grimmer Str. 88, Greifswald, Germany

    Walter Wucherer

  3. Institute of Botany and Phytointroductio, Timiryazeva Str. 36-D, Almaty, 050040, Kazakhstan

    Liliya A. Dimeyeva

  4. CRS@GIS „Terra“, Zhabaeva Str. 83, Almaty, 050010, Kazakhstan

    Nathalia P. Ogar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2012 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Breckle, SW., Wucherer, W. (2012). Halophytes and Salt Desertification in the Aralkum Area. In: Breckle, SW., Wucherer, W., Dimeyeva, L., Ogar, N. (eds) Aralkum - a Man-Made Desert. Ecological Studies, vol 218. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-21117-1_12

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation