Biosalinity is the study and practice of using saline (salty) water for irrigating agricultural crops.
Halotolerance is the adaptation of living organisms to conditions of high salinity. Halotolerant species tend to live in areas such as hypersaline lakes, coastal dunes, saline deserts, salt marshes, and inland salt seas and springs. Halophiles are organisms that live in highly saline environments, and require the salinity to survive, while halotolerant organisms can grow under saline conditions, but do not require elevated concentrations of salt for growth. Halophytes are salt-tolerant higher plants. Halotolerant microorganisms are of considerable biotechnological interest.
A halophyte is a salt-tolerant plant that grows in soil or waters of high salinity, coming into contact with saline water through its roots or by salt spray, such as in saline semi-deserts, mangrove swamps, marshes and sloughs, and seashores. The word derives from Ancient Greek ἅλας (halas) 'salt' and φυτόν (phyton) 'plant'. Halophytes have different anatomy, physiology and biochemistry than glycophytes. An example of a halophyte is the salt marsh grass Spartina alterniflora. Relatively few plant species are halophytes—perhaps only 2% of all plant species. Information about many of the earth's halophytes can be found in the halophyte database.
Soil salinity is the salt content in the soil; the process of increasing the salt content is known as salinization. Salts occur naturally within soils and water. Salination can be caused by natural processes such as mineral weathering or by the gradual withdrawal of an ocean. It can also come about through artificial processes such as irrigation and road salt.
Soda inermis, the opposite-leaved saltwort, oppositeleaf Russian thistle, or barilla plant, is a small, annual, succulent shrub that is native to the Mediterranean Basin. It is a halophyte that typically grows in coastal regions and can be irrigated with salt water. The plant was previously classified as Salsola soda, now regarded as a synonym.
Khabikki Lake is a salt water lake, in the Soan Sakaser Valley in the southern Salt Range in Khushab District, Punjab, Pakistan. This lake is formed due to the absence of drainage in the range. It is part of Uchhali Wetlands Complex and has been designated a Ramsar site.
Salicornia bigelovii is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaranthaceae known by the common names dwarf saltwort and dwarf glasswort. It is native to coastal areas of the eastern and southern United States, Belize, and coastal Mexico. It is a plant of salt marshes, a halophyte which grows in saltwater. It is an annual herb producing an erect, branching stem which is jointed at many internodes. The fleshy, green to red stem can reach about 60 cm in height. The leaves are usually small plates, pairs of which are fused into a band around the stem. The inflorescence is a dense, sticklike spike of flowers. Each flower is made up of a fused pocket of sepals enclosing the stamens and stigmas, with no petals. The fruit is an utricle containing tiny, fuzzy seeds. The southern part of the species range is represented by the Petenes mangroves of the Yucatán, where it is a subdominant plant associate in the mangroves.
Batis maritima, the saltwort or beachwort, is a halophyte. It is a C3-plant, long-lived perennial, dioecious, succulent shrub. The plant forms dense colonies in salt marshes, brackish marshes, and mangrove swamps and frequently is found on the margins of saltpans and wind-tidal flats. Batis maritima is a pioneer plant, covers quickly areas where hurricanes have destroyed the natural vegetation.
Suaeda fruticosa is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaranthaceae. It is a small shrub, with very variable appearance over its wide range. It is a halophyte, and occurs in arid and semi-arid saltflats, salt marshes and similar habitats.
Iris orientalis is a species in the genus Iris; it is also in the subgenus Limniris and in the series Spuriae. It is a rhizomatous perennial plant, from Turkey and Greece, with white flowers with a yellow mark or blotch. It was also known as Iris ochroleuca for a long time. It is commonly known as yellow banded iris in the U.S. and Turkish iris in the UK but also has some other less common names. It is very hardy and has been known to naturalize in various countries. It is widely cultivated as an ornamental plant in temperate regions.
Iris spuria subsp. musulmanica is a species of the genus Iris, part of a subgenus known as Limniris and in the series Spuriae. It is a subspecies of Iris spuria and is a rhizomatous perennial plant, from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iran and Turkey in Asia with flowers in various shades of blue, but there are rare white forms. They have a yellow centre and darker veining. It has the common name of 'Muslim iris'. It is cultivated as an ornamental plant in temperate regions.
Arthrocaulon macrostachyum, synonym Arthrocnemum macrostachyum, is a species of flowering plant in the amaranth family. It is native to coastal areas of the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea and parts of the Middle East, where it grows in coastal and inland salt marshes, alkali flats, and other habitats with saline soils.
Halocnemum strobilaceum is a species of flowering plant in the subfamily Salicornioideae of the family Amaranthaceae. It is native to coastal areas of the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea and parts of the Middle East and central Asia, where it grows in coastal and inland salt marshes, alkali flats, and other habitats with saline soils.
Iris paradoxa is a species of flowering plant native to western Asia. It has large upright petals and smaller lower petals, which is unique amongst most iris forms. They come in various shades from white, lavender, mauve, medium purple, violet, dark purple to black. It has a black or purplish black beard on the lower petals. It comes from the region of Transcaucasia, and is found in the countries of Iran, Turkey, Armenia and in Azerbaijan.
Salt tolerance of crops is the maximum salt level a crop tolerates without losing its productivity while it is affected negatively at higher levels. The salt level is often taken as the soil salinity or the salinity of the irrigation water.
Crop tolerance to seawater is the ability of an agricultural crop to withstand the high salinity induced by irrigation with seawater, or a mixture of fresh water and seawater. There are crops that can grow on seawater and demonstration farms have shown the feasibility. The government of the Netherlands reports a breakthrough in food security as specific varieties of potatoes, carrots, red onions, white cabbage and broccoli appear to thrive if they are irrigated with salt water.
Elisabeth Boyko was an Austrian-Israeli botanist noted for pioneering the use of salt water for irrigation of desert plants in Israel, alongside her husband Hugo Boyko. She received the William F. Petersen Award from the International Society of Biometeorology.
Dukhan Sabkha, located in the northern section of the Dukhan region in western Qatar, is the largest inland sabkha (salt-flat) ecosystem found in the Persian Gulf. The sabkha runs for approximately 20 kilometres (12 mi), occupies an area of 73 km2, has a width of 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) to 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) and a depth of between −6 metres (−20 ft) and −7 metres (−23 ft) below sea level. Consequently, the sabkha holds the distinction of accommodating the lowest point of Qatar. It is situated roughly 10 km east of the city of Dukhan and 2 km from Dukhan Highway. The Dukhan Field is to its immediate west.
Akissa Bahri is a Tunisian agricultural engineer, a former professor at the National Agricultural Institute of Tunisia, and the current Agriculture Minister of Tunisia. She has previously been Director for Africa at the International Water Management Institute (2005–2010), Coordinator of the African Water Facility at the African Development Bank (2010–2015), and Director of Research at the National Research Institute for Agricultural Engineering, Water, and Forestry (INRGREF) in Tunis, Tunisia (2016–2017).
Biosaline agriculture is the production and growth of plants in saline rich groundwater and/or soil. In water scarce locations, salinity poses a serious threat to agriculture due to its toxicity to most plants. Abiotic stressors such as salinity, extreme temperatures, and drought make plant growth difficult in many climate regions. Integration of biosaline solutions is becoming necessary in arid and semiarid climates where freshwater abundance is low and seawater is ample. Salt-tolerant plants that flourish in high-salinity conditions are called halophytes. Halophyte implementation has the potential to restore salt-rich environments, provide for global food demands, produce medicine and biofuels, and conserve fresh water.
