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Soil salinity is the salt content in the soil; the process of increasing the salt content is known as salinization. [1] Salts occur naturally within soils and water. Salination can be caused by natural processes such as mineral weathering or by the gradual withdrawal of an ocean.
Nutrients in the soil are taken up by the plant through its roots, and in particular its root hairs.To be taken up by a plant, a nutrient element must be located near the root surface; however, the supply of nutrients in contact with the root is rapidly depleted within a distance of ca. 2 mm. [14] There are three basic mechanisms whereby nutrient ions dissolved in the soil solution are brought ...
Plant nutrition is the study of the chemical elements and compounds necessary for plant growth and reproduction, plant metabolism and their external supply. In its absence the plant is unable to complete a normal life cycle, or that the element is part of some essential plant constituent or metabolite .
Salt tolerance of crops is the maximum salt level a crop tolerates without losing its productivity while it is affected negatively at higher levels. The salt level is often taken as the soil salinity or the salinity of the irrigation water.
The sodium–potassium pump, a critical enzyme for regulating sodium and potassium levels in cells. Sodium ions (Na +) are necessary in small amounts for some types of plants, [1] but sodium as a nutrient is more generally needed in larger amounts [1] by animals, due to their use of it for generation of nerve impulses and for maintenance of electrolyte balance and fluid balance.
To increase food production, fertilizers, such as nitrate (NO 3 –) and ammonium (NH 4 +), which are easily absorbed by plants, are introduced to the plant root zone. However, soils do not absorb the excess NO 3 – ions, which then move downward freely with drainage water, and are leached into groundwater, streams and oceans. [ 2 ]
Halophytes, or salt-loving plants, can be irrigated with pure seawater with the aim to grow fodder crops. A trial was made by Glenn et al. to use halophytes for feeding of sheep and it was concluded that the animals thrived well.
While both very low and very high pH values are detrimental to plant growth, there is an increasing trend of plant biodiversity along the range from extremely acidic (pH 3.5) to strongly alkaline (pH 9) soils, i.e. there are more calcicole than calcifuge species, at least in terrestrial environments.