Littoral salt marshes on the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula
Soriano, P.; Martínez-Solís, I.; Prieto-Mossi, J.; Martínez-Nieto, M.I. (2021). Littoral salt marshes on the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula, in: Grigore, M.-N. (Ed.) Handbook of halophytes. pp. 623-660. https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-57635-6_20
|
| Author keywords |
Anatomical and physiological adaptations; Halophytic vegetation; Phylogeographical pattern; Quaternary glaciations; Barriers and corridors; Habitat fragmentation; Conservation strategies; Seed germination strategies |
| Authors | | Top |
- Soriano, P.
- Martínez-Solís, I.
- Prieto-Mossi, J.
- Martínez-Nieto, M.I.
|
|
|
| Abstract |
Salt marshes are threatened environments where a fine equilibrium between biotic and abiotic parameters is the key factor that regulates natural biodiversity (Mudd SM, Fagherazzi S, Salt marsh ecosystems: tidal flow, vegetation, and carbon dynamics. In: Johnson EA, Martin YE (eds) A biogeoscience approach to ecosystems. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 407–434, 2016). Under such extreme conditions, only a few perfectly adapted plants are capable of surviving. Depending on the soil salt concentration, in turn, directly related to climate characteristics, and soil moisture, plants develop varied adaptive strategies to survive. In areas where there is less salt in the environment, plants are able to live basically by adapting their life cycle and/or metabolism. However, in the innermost areas of the salt marsh where salt is abundant and soil is subject to dry periods with saline efflorescence, adaptations affect not only these factors but also other plant anatomy and structure characteristics. |
|
