Document: BRU-3-31-23

Effects of salinity and temperature on respiratory metabolism of Salicornia utahensis from a Great Basin playa.

HARRIS, L.C.*, M.A.KHAN, B.N.SMITH and L.D.HANSEN

Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602 USA 1

Abstract:
Plants that live in desert playas of the Great Basin must simultaneously tolerate very high concentrations of salt and high temperature. An isothermal calorimetric method was used to measure metabolic heat rates and CO2 rates of stem tips and leaves from Salicornia utahensis grown from seed in different NaCl concentrations of 0 to 1 M. Metabolic rates were measured at nine temperatures from 5 to 45C. The predicted optimal growth rate was at 0.8 to 1 M salt and 25C. The maximum temperature tolerated is an approximately linear function of salt concentration, about 20C at 0 M salt and about 32C at 1 M. Thus salt and temperature stresses are not additive, rather they oppose one another (i.e. at higher salt concentrations plants will tolerate higher temperatures). This is exactly the pattern seen in the field.

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This abstract is being presented at: 10:30 AM in session:
Oral Session #1: Plant Carbon Allocation.