Brief Note: A Significant Seed Bank for Spergularia marina (Caryophyllaceae)

Author Institution: Department of Botany, Ohio UniversityThe seed bank of Spergularia marina averaged 471,135 seeds m~2 in an Ohio salt marsh, representing the largest seed pool reported in the literature for a flowering plant community. Seed banks perform an important role in maintaining populations of annual halophytes, such as S. marina, in salt marshes, because of the local extinction of plant populations in these unpredictable and highly stressful saline environments

The Effect of Salinity on Seed Germination and Seedling Growth of Echinochloa crusgalli

Author Institution: Department of Botany, Ohio UniversityThe purpose of this investigation was to determine the effect of salinity on germination and seedling growth of Echinochloa crusgalli collected from different populations. Germination studies with Echinochloa crusgalli indicated that each increase in salinity up to 1.5% NaCl caused a reduction in germination in both scarification and stratification + light treatments, with no seeds germinating at 2% NaCl. Stratified seeds without light did not germinate in any of the treatments. Seeds originating from parents growing at low, medium, and high salinity field sites differed in their response to salinity stress. At 2% NaCl, seeds originating from all three seed sources failed to germinate. Each increment in salinity caused a decline in seedling height, but the decrease was 61% at 1.5% NaCl for the low salt population, 77% for the medium salt population and only 38% for the high salt population

Growth and Survival of the Halophyte Salicornia Europaera L. Under Saline Field Conditions

Author Institution: Department of Botany, Ohio UniversityField investigations were carried out to determine growth and survival rates of Salicornia europaea L. in a saline environment at Rittman, Ohio. Collected data indicated that from 62% to 100% of the seedlings within the 'A saline zones investigated did not survive to maturity. Seedling mortality was statistically correlated at P<0.01 to rising soil salinity stress during late spring and summer. Plant growth was minimal between April and June, increasing sharply during late summer and fall

Effect of Salinity and Waterlogging on Growth and Survival of Salicornia europaea L., and Inland Halophyte

Author Institution: Department of Environmental and Plant Biology, Ohio UniversitySalicornia europaea seedlings were exposed to various salinity and water depths for 11 weeks under controlled, growth chamber conditions. Weekly measurements were made of height, number of nodes, and number of branches per plant. Growth and survival of plants grown with the addition of NaCl were significantly greater (P 0.05) growth differences among plants under different water level conditions within the salt treatment group, plants which were grown without NaCl demonstrated significant decreases in growth in higher water levels, with the greatest growth occurring in the low water treatment group. All plants given a salt treatment survived until the end of the experiment. However, high mortality occurred among the plants that were not salt-treated, with all plants grown under waterlogged conditions dying by week six. The high mortality exhibited by this treatment group indicates that Salicornia, which is typically found in low marsh or inland salt marsh situations, was unable to overcome the combined stress of being continuously waterlogged in a freshwater environment

Brief Note: Eleocharis parvula (R. & S.) Link., a New Species Record for the Flora of Ohio

Author Institution: Department of Environmental and Plant Biology, Ohio UniversityEleocharis parvula (R. & S.) Link. (Cyperaceae) is reported from a saline site in Wayne County, OH. It was growing on the border of a saline pond on the property of the Morton Salt Company, Rittman, OH

SPOROBOLUS TEXANUS VASEY IN LINCOLN, NEBRASKA

Volume: 70Start Page: 450End Page: 45