Soil-plant relationships around an inland, saline slough

• Main Author: Parsons, David Cecil
• Language: English
• Published: 2010
• Subjects: Plant-soil relationships
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/18881

Soil-plant relationships around an inland, saline slough were investigated. It was found that the release of soluble salts from feldspar minerals in soil and rock materials, and the gradual transfer of salts downslope had led to the salinization of the slough. The salinity of the slough was found to be related to annual and seasonal climatic cycles. High osmotic pressure and salt content of the soil solution adjacent to the slough precluded the growth of non-halophytic plant species. Within the area of soils affected by salts around the slough, it was found that Saltgrass #1, which occupied the zone adjacent to the slough was more tolerant of saline and alkali soil conditions and of prolonged inundation than Saltgrass #2 which grew in the second zone. Although the distribution of halophytes and non-halophytes was related to soil salinity and alkalinity, the distribution of non-halophytic plant communities within the zone of normal soils was controlled by variations in site microclimate due to the configuration of the landscape. Weathering, the nature and formation of the saline slough, and the nature and distribution of the soils and plant communities were found to be mutually dependent and the products of the same five factors: climate, relief, geologic materials, organisms, and time. === Land and Food Systems, Faculty of === Graduate