Effect of salinity on germination, seedling emergence, seedling growth and ion accumulation of a euhalophyte Suaeda salsa in an intertidal zone and on saline inland

The effect of salinity on germination, seedling emergence, seedling growth and ion accumulation of a euhalophyte Suaeda salsa L. in an intertidal zone and on saline inland were investigated. Brown seeds of S. salsa were heavier and better developed than black seeds in both the intertidal zone and on saline inland. The brown seeds/black seeds ratio for S. salsa in the intertidal zone was much higher than that for S. salsa on saline inland. More germinated seeds grew as seedlings under high salinity for S. salsa from the intertidal zone than S. salsa on saline inland; high salinity decreased the shoot length more severely for S. salsa from saline inland than for S. salsa from the intertidal zone; the seedling growth at a range of NaCl, measured either as shoot length or shoot dry weight, for S. salsa from the intertidal zone was lower than that of S. salsa from saline inland. In conclusion, for S. salsa from the intertidal zone there appears to be selection for slower growth and producing more brown seeds. The establishment of populations of S. salsa in different saline environments depends on the responses of seed germination, seedling emergence and seedling growth to salinity. These characteristics may determine the natural distributions of S. salsa populations in different saline environments.