Biosalinity is the study and practice of using saline (salty) water for irrigating agricultural crops.
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 ehaloph database.
Rapeseed, also known as rape, or oilseed rape, is a bright-yellow flowering member of the family Brassicaceae, cultivated mainly for its oil-rich seed, which naturally contains appreciable amounts of erucic acid. The term "canola" denotes a group of rapeseed cultivars that were bred to have very low levels of erucic acid and which are especially prized for use as human and animal food. Rapeseed is the third-largest source of vegetable oil and the second-largest source of protein meal in the world.
Safflower is a highly branched, herbaceous, thistle-like annual plant in the family Asteraceae. It is commercially cultivated for vegetable oil extracted from the seeds and was used by the early Spanish colonies along the Rio Grande as a substitute for saffron. Plants are 30 to 150 cm tall with globular flower heads having yellow, orange, or red flowers. Each branch will usually have from one to five flower heads containing 15 to 20 seeds per head. Safflower is native to arid environments having seasonal rain. It grows a deep taproot which enables it to thrive in such environments.
Salicornia is a genus of succulent, halophytic flowering plants in the family Amaranthaceae that grow in salt marshes, on beaches, and among mangroves. Salicornia species are native to North America, Europe, Central Asia, and southern Africa. Common names for the genus include glasswort, pickleweed, picklegrass, and marsh samphire; these common names are also used for some species not in Salicornia. To French speakers in Atlantic Canada, they are known colloquially as 'titines de souris'. The main European species is often eaten, called marsh samphire in Britain, and the main North American species is occasionally sold in grocery stores or appears on restaurant menus as sea beans, samphire greens or sea asparagus.
Batis is a genus of two species of flowering plants, the only genus in the family Bataceae. They are halophytic plants, native to the coastal salt marshes of warm temperate and tropical America and tropical Australasia.
Salsola soda, 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.
Distichlis palmeri is an obligate emergent perennial rhizomatous dioecious halophytic C4 grass in the Poacea (Gramineae) family. D. palmeri is a saltwater marsh grass endemic to the tidal marshes of the northern part of The Gulf of California and Islands section of the Sonoran Desert. D.palmeri is not drought tolerant. It does withstand surface drying between supra tidal events because roots extend downward to more than 1 meter where coastal substrata is still moist.
Thlaspi arvense, known by the common name field pennycress, is a flowering plant in the cabbage family Brassicaceae. It is native to Eurasia, and is a common weed throughout much of North America and its home.
The glassworts are various succulent, annual halophytic plants, that is, plants that thrive in saline environments, such as seacoasts and salt marshes. The original English glasswort plants belong to the genus Salicornia, but today the glassworts include halophyte plants from several genera, some of which are native to continents unknown to the medieval English, and growing in ecosystems, such as mangrove swamps, never envisioned when the term glasswort was coined.
Salicornia quinqueflora, synonym Sarcocornia quinqueflora, commonly known as beaded samphire, bead weed, beaded glasswort or glasswort, is a species of succulent halophytic coastal shrub. It occurs in wetter coastal areas of Australia and New Zealand.
Salicornia oil is a pressed oil, derived from the seeds of the Salicornia bigelovii, a halophyte native to Mexico.
Malvaviscus arboreus is a species of flowering plant in the hibiscus family, Malvaceae, that is native to the American South, Mexico, Central America, and South America. The specific name, arboreus, refers to the tree-like appearance of a mature plant. It is now popular in cultivation and goes by many English names including wax mallow, Turk's cap (mallow), Turk's turban, sleeping hibiscus, manzanilla, manzanita, ladies teardrop and Scotchman's purse; many of these common names refer to other, in some cases unrelated, plants. Its flowers do not open fully and help attract butterflies and hummingbirds.
Salicornia virginica is a halophytic perennial dicot which grows in various zones of intertidal salt marshes and can be found in alkaline flats. It is native to various regions of the Northern Hemisphere including both coasts of North America from Canada to Mexico.
Salicornia europaea, known as marsh samphire, common glasswort or just glasswort, is a halophytic annual dicot flowering plant in the family Amaranthaceae. Glasswort is a succulent herb also known as ‘Pickle weed’ or ‘Marsh samphire’. As a succulent, it has high water content, which accounts for its slightly translucent look and gives it the descriptive name “glasswort.” To some people, it is known as “chicken toe” because of its shape. To others, it is called “saltwort.” It grows in various zones of intertidal salt marshes, on beaches, and among mangroves.
Saltwater aquaponics is a combination of plant cultivation and fish rearing, systems with similarities to standard aquaponics, except that it uses saltwater instead of the more commonly used freshwater. In some instances, this may be diluted saltwater. The concept is being researched as a sustainable way to eliminate the stresses that are put on local environments by conventional fish farming practices who expel wastewater into the coastal zones, all while creating complementary crops.
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.
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.
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.
The Petenes mangroves ecoregion covers mangrove habitat along the Gulf of Mexico coast of southern Mexico, where Campeche state and Yucatan state meet, centering on the Celestun Lagoon inland from the barrier-island town of Celestún. Because the region has relatively little rainfall and no rivers feeding the lagoons, the freshwater to support the mangrove ecosystem springs from underground aquifers. The area is important for migratory birds, and as a nesting area for sea turtles. The area around the Celestun Lagoon is protected by the Ría Celestún Biosphere Reserve, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.
