Abstract
Five species of mangroves (Bruguiera gymnorrhiza, Excoecaria agallocha, Heritiera fomes, Phoenix paludosa and Xylocarpus granatum) were investigated with respect to their photosynthesis rate, chlorophyll content, mesophyll conductance, specific leaf area, stomatal conductance and photosynthetic nitrogen use efficiency under saline (15–27 PPT) and non-saline (1.8–2 PPT) conditions. Some inorganic elements were estimated from the leaf samples to compare the concentrations with change in salinity. Elevated assimilation rate coupled with increased chlorophyll content, more mesophyll and stomatal conductance and higher specific leaf area in non-saline condition indicates that these mangroves can grow well even with minimal salinity in soil. In B. gymnorrhiza, E. agallocha and P. paludosa the optimum PAR acquisition for photosynthesis was higher under salt stress, while the maximal rate of assimilation was lower even with minimal salinity. H. fomes and X. granatum followed the opposite trend, where the peak photosynthesis rate was lower under non-saline conditions even at a higher irradiance than in the saline forest. This indicates less affinity of H. fomes and X. granatum to high substrate salinity. Accumulation of Na+ increased in plants in saline substrate, while in most of the species, salinity imposed reduction in Ca+ and Mg+ uptake. Increased K+ content can be attributed to high substrate level K+ in non-saline soil. Trace amount of salinity induced Cu++ detected in leaves of H. fomes may impart some toxic effects. Photosynthetic nitrogen use efficiency increased in non-saline soil that can be attributed to higher photosynthetic peak in most of the species and/or lower nitrogen accumulation in plant samples.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ball MC (1988) Ecophysiology of mangroves. Trees: Structure and function 2:129–142
Ball MC, Cowan IR, Farquhar CD (1988) Maintenance of leaf temperature and the optimization of carbon gain in relation to water loss in a tropical mangrove forest. Aust J Plant Physiol 15:263–276
Bongi G, Loreto F (1989) Gas-exchange properties of salt stressed olive (Olea europea L.) leaves. Plant Physiol 90:1408–1416
Bourne CAJ, John St DJ (1978) Improved procedure for polychromatic staining of epoxy sections with basic fuchin-toluidine blue. Med Lab Sci 35:399–400
Brugnoli E, Bjorkman O (1992) Growth of cotton under continuous salinity stress: influence on allocation pattern, stomatal and non-stomatal components of photosynthesis and dissipation of excess light energy. Planta 187:338–347
Cheeseman JM (1994) Depressions of photosynthesis in mangrove canopies. In: Baker NR, Bower JR (eds) Photoinhibition of photosynthesis: molecular mechanisms to the field. Bios Scientific Publishers, Oxford, pp 377–389
Cheesman JM, Lovelock CE (2004) Photosynthetic characteristics of dwarf and fringe Rhizophora mangle L. in Belizean mangrove. Plant Cell and Environment 27(6):769–780
Cheeseman JM, Clough BF, Carter DR, Lovelock CE, Eong OJ, Sein RG (1991) The analysis of photosynthetic performance in leaves under field conditions: A case study using Bruguiera mangroves. Photosynthesis Research 29:11–22
Chow WS, Ball MC, Anderson JM (1990) Growth and photosynthetic responses of spinach to salinity: implications of K+ nutrition for salt tolerance. Aust Journal Physiol 17:563 –567
Clough BF (1985) Effect of nutrient supply on photosynthesis in mangroves. In: The mangroves. Proc. Natl. Symp. Biol. Util. Cons. Mangroves. Shivaji University, Kolhapur, India. pp 80–88
Cowan IR (1982) Regulation of water use in relation to carbon gain in higher plants. In: Water relations and carbon assimilation. Physiological Plant Ecology. II, Springer-Verlag, Berlin. pp 589–614
Cram JW, Torr PG, Ross DA (2002) Salt allocation during leaf development and leaf fail in mangroves. Trees 16:112–19
Das S (1999) An adaptive feature of some mangroves of Sundarbans, West Bengal. Journal of Plant Biology 42(2):109–116
Das AB, Parida A, Basak UC, Das P (2002) Studies on pigments, proteins and photosynthetic rate in some mangroves and mangrove associates from Bhitarkanika, Orissa. Mar Biol 141:415–422
Datta P (2003) Certain aspects of ecophysiology and anatomical investigations in some mangroves of Sundarbans, West Bengal. Ph.D. Thesis. University of Calcutta.
Delphine S, Alvino A, Zacchini M, Loreto F (1998) Consequence of salt stress on conductance to CO2 diffusion, Rubisco characteristics of spinach leaves. Aust Journal Plant Physiol 25:395–402
Demiral MA, Aydin M, Yorulmaz A (2005) Effect of salinity on growth chemical composition and antioxidative enzyme activity of two malting barley (Hordum vulgare L.) cultivars. Turk J Biol 29:117–123
Dijkstra P (1990) Cause and effect of differences in specific leaf area. In: Lambers HM, Cambridge L, Konings H, Pons TL (eds) Cause and consequences of variation in growth rate and productivity of higher plants. SPB Academic Publishing The Hague, The Netherlands, pp 125–144
Feller IC, Whigham DF, McKee KL, Lovelock CE (2003) Nitrogen limitation of growth and nutrient dynamics in a disturbed mangrove forest, Indian River Lagoon, Florida. Oceologia 134(3):405–414
Grassi G, Meir P, Cormer RN, Tompkins D, Jarvis PG (2002) Photosynthetic parameters in seedlings of Eucalyptus grandis as affected by rate of nitrogen supply. Plant Cell Environ 25:1677–1688
Greenway H, Munns R (1980) Mechanisms of salt tolerance in nonhalophytes. Annu Rev Plant Physiol 31:149–190
Jackson ML (1973) Soil chemical analysis. Prentice Hall, New Delhi, India, pp 498
James SA, Smith WK, Vogelmann EC (1999) Ontogenetic differences in mesophyll structure and chlorophyll distribution in Eucalyptus globulus ssp. globulus (Myrtaceae). Am J Bot 86:198–207
Kathiresan K, Kannan L (1985) Photosynthetic productivity in species of Rhizophora. In: The Mangroves. Proc. Natl. Symp. Biol. Util. Cons. Mangroves Shivaji University, Kolhapur, India. pp 262–265
Kathiresan K, Moorthy P (1993) Influence of different irradiance on growth and photosynthetic characteristics in seedlings of Rhizophora species. Photosynthetica 29:143–146
Kathiresan K, Moorthy P (1994) Photosynthetic responses of Rhizophora apiculata Blume seedlings to a long-chain aliphatic alcohol. Aquat Bot 47:191–193
Kawasaki S, Borchert C, Deyholos M (2001) Gene expression profiles during the initial phase of salt stress in rice. Plant Cell 13: 889–905
Khan MS (1977) Flora of Bangladesh. Report 4. Camelinanceae. Bangladesh National Herbarium, Bangladesh Agriculture Research Council (BARC), Farmgate, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Khan MA, Ungar IA, Showalter AM (2000) The effect of salinity on the growth, water status and ion content of a leaf succulent perennial halophyte Sueada fruticosa (L.) Forssk. J Aried Environ 45:73–84
Kiato M, Utsugi H, Kuramoto S, Tabuchi R, Fujimoto K, Lihpal S (2003) Light-dependent photosynthetic characteristics indicated by chlorophyll fluorescence in five mangrove species native to Pohnpei Island, Micronesia. Physiologia Plantarum 117(3):376–382
Krauss KW, Allen JA (2003) Influence of salinity and shade on seedling photosynthesis and growth of two mangrove species Rhizophora mangle and Bruguiera sexangula, introduced to Hawaii. Aquat Bot 77(4):311–324
Lichtenthaler HK, Wellburn AR (1983) Determination of total carotenoids and chlorophylls a and b of leaf extracts in different solvents. Biochem Soc Trans 603:591–592
Loreto F, Harley PC, Marco GD, Sharkey TD (1992) Estimation of mesophyll conductance to CO2flux by three different methods. Plant Physiol 98:1437–1443
Lovelock CE, Feller IC, McKee KL, Engelbrecht BMJ, Ball MC (2004) The effect of nutrient enrichment on growth, photosynthesis and hydraulic conductance of dwarf mangroves in Panama. Functional Ecology 18(1):25–33
Murgatoryd LB (1976) The preparation of thin sections from glycol methacrylate embedding tissue using a standard rotary microtome. Med Lab Sci 31:67–69
Naidoo G, Tuffers AV, von Willert DJ (2002) Changes in gas exchange and chlorophyll fluorescence characteristics of two mangroves and a mangrove associate in response to salinity in the natural environment. Trees 16(2–3):140–146
Nandy (Datta) P, Ghose M (2001) Photosynthesis and water-use efficiency of some mangroves of Sundarbans, India. Journal of Plant Biology 44: 213–219
Nandy (Datta) P, Ghose M (2005) Photosynthesis and water-use characterististics in Indian mangroves. Journal of Plant Biology 48(2): 245–252
Nandy (Datta) P, Das S, Ghose M (2005) Relation of leaf micromorphology with photosynthesis and water efflux in some Indian mangroves. Acta Botanica Croatica 64 (2):331–340
Parida AK, Das AB, Mitra B (2004) Effect of salt and growth, ion accumulation, photosynthesis and leaf anatomy of the mangrove, Bruguiera parviflora. Trees 18:167–174
Peoples TR, Koch DW (1979) Role of potassium in carbon dioxide assimilation in Medicago sativa L. Plant Physiol 63:878–881
Poorter H, Evans J (1998) Photosynthetic nitrogen use efficiency of species that differ inherently in specific leaf area. Oecologia 116:26–37
Porra RJ, Thompson WA, Kriedemann PE (1989) Determination of accurate extinction coefficients and simultaneous equations for assaying chlorophylls a and b extracted with four different solvents: verification of the concentration of chlorophyll standards by atomic spectroscopy. Biochim Biophys Acta 975: 384–394
Schulze ED, Caldwell MM, Canadell J, Mooney HA, Jackson RB, Parson D, Scholes R, Sala OE, Trimborn P (1998) Downward flux of water through roots (i.e., inverse hydraulic lift) in dry Kalahari sands. Oecologia 115:460–462
Searson MG, Thomas DS, Montagu KD, Conroy JP (2004) Leaf water use efficiency differs between Eucalyptus seedlings from contrasting rainfall environments. Func Plant Biol 31:441–450
Sefton CA, Kelvin M, Atwell BJ, Conroy PJ (2002) Anatomical variation in juvenile eucalypt leaves accounts for differences in specific leaf area and CO2 assimilation rates. Aust J Bot 50(3):301–310
Thronber JP (1975) Chlorophyll proteins light harvesting and reaction centre components of plants. Ann Rev Plant Physiol 26:127–158
Werner A, Stelzer R (1990) Physiological responses of the mangrove Rhizophora mangle grown in the absence and presence of NaCl. Plant Cell Environ 13:243–255
Wilson PJ, Thompsonand K, Hodgson JG (1999) Specific leaf area and leaf dry matter content as alternative predictors of plant strategies. New phytol 143:155–162
Wright GC, Nageswara Rao RC, Farquhar GD (1994) Water use efficiency and carbon isotope discrimination in peanut under water deficit conditions. Crop Science 34:92–97
Zabala NQ (1990) Silviculture of Heritiera fomes. In: Silviculture of species, Chittagong, Bangladesh. Institute of forestry, Chittagong University (IFCU) and Food and Agricultural Organization, Rome, Italy, pp 55–57
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Nandy (Datta), P., Das, S., Ghose, M. et al. Effects of salinity on photosynthesis, leaf anatomy, ion accumulation and photosynthetic nitrogen use efficiency in five Indian mangroves. Wetlands Ecol Manage 15, 347–357 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11273-007-9036-8
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11273-007-9036-8