A CONCEPT OF PHYSIOLOGICAL AND BIOCHEMICAL ADAPTATION OF HALOPHYTES TO SALINE SOILS EXEMPLIFIED WITH THE LAKE ELTON VICINITY

Abstract

The present paper summarized the results of long-term field studies of halophilic plants in the lake Elton vicinity. The plants are referred to 22 species and 14 genera. They are classified according to their ecological (salt-accumulating euhalophytes, salt-extruding crinohalophytes, and salt-excluding glycohalophytes) and genetic (C3 or C4 type of photosynthesis) attribution. These different plant groups were associated with different soil salinity and humidity conditions. The physiological and biochemical conditions of the plants were characterized by selected parameters of their water metabolism, photosynthetic functions, redox-conditions and features of photosynthetic tissue, cell and membrane structures. The original and published data were analyzed to suggest a concept of the physiological and biochemical adaptations of halophytes to saline soils. Because metabolic features specific for each group of halophytes are associated with the ability to dwell on saline soils, the contribution of each group to the species composition of an ecosystem changes with changes in the degree of soil salinity. Of the key significance for a defined species adaptability to a current environment are the features of its metabolism (strategy), which are tightly associated with plant tissue, organ, cell, and membrane structure.