Saline Water Stress in Caatinga Species with Potential for Reforestation in the Face of Advancing Desertification in the Brazilian Semiarid Region

The advance of the soil desertification process and water salinisation hinders reforestation actions in the Brazilian semiarid region due to the negative effects on the initial establishment of seedlings. Knowledge of potential species for overcoming the problems of soil and water salinity is of broad interest. This study evaluated the growth of seedlings of the species Handroanthus impetiginosus and Handroanthus spongiosus subjected to the combined stresses of salinity and water deficit. The species were subjected to three water depths (WDs): WD1—50%, WD2—75% and WD3—100% of reference evapotranspiration, and four salinity levels (SL): SL1—0.27 dS m−1, SL2—2.52 dS m−1, SL3—6.35 dS m−1 and SL4—7.38 dS m−1. Biometric data, including plant height, number of leaves, collar diameter and biomass, was obtained. The results showed that H. impetiginosus was more tolerant of the conditions analysed. The species showed greater sensitivity to salt stress, which reduced growth and dry biomass accumulation by up to 98%. Increased water deficit reduced height, collar diameter, number of leaves, root biomass and total biomass. We propose that the optimal water depth for both species is 100% of the reference evapotranspiration.

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Publication Details

Journal
Environments
Published
2025-07-14
DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/environments12070239
Primary Topic
Soil Management and Crop Yield
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Saline Water Stress in Caatinga Species with Potential for Reforestation in the Face of Advancing Desertification in the Brazilian Semiarid Region

Xuguang Tang, Márcia Bruna Marim de Moura, Luciana Sandra Bastos de Souza, Carlos André Alves de Souza et al.
Environments
Soil Management and Crop Yield
article

Saline Water Stress in Caatinga Species with Potential for Reforestation in the Face of Advancing Desertification in the Brazilian Semiarid Region

Xuguang Tang, Márcia Bruna Marim de Moura, Luciana Sandra Bastos de Souza, Carlos André Alves de Souza, Lady Daiane Costa de Sousa Martins, Tays Ferreira Barros, Thieres George Freire da Silva, Alexandre Maniçoba da Rosa Ferraz Jardim, Klébia Raiane Siqueira de Souza, Elania Freire da Silva, Wagner Martins dos Santos, João L. M. P. de Lima
article en

Abstract

The advance of the soil desertification process and water salinisation hinders reforestation actions in the Brazilian semiarid region due to the negative effects on the initial establishment of seedlings. Knowledge of potential species for overcoming the problems of soil and water salinity is of broad interest. This study evaluated the growth of seedlings of the species Handroanthus impetiginosus and Handroanthus spongiosus subjected to the combined stresses of salinity and water deficit. The species were subjected to three water depths (WDs): WD1—50%, WD2—75% and WD3—100% of reference evapotranspiration, and four salinity levels (SL): SL1—0.27 dS m−1, SL2—2.52 dS m−1, SL3—6.35 dS m−1 and SL4—7.38 dS m−1. Biometric data, including plant height, number of leaves, collar diameter and biomass, was obtained. The results showed that H. impetiginosus was more tolerant of the conditions analysed. The species showed greater sensitivity to salt stress, which reduced growth and dry biomass accumulation by up to 98%. Increased water deficit reduced height, collar diameter, number of leaves, root biomass and total biomass. We propose that the optimal water depth for both species is 100% of the reference evapotranspiration.

EnvironmentsVol. 12(7)
Universidade Federal do Rio Grande (BR), Hangzhou Normal University (CN), Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco (BR), University of Coimbra (PT), Universidade Federal Rural do Semi-Árido (BR), Universidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp) (BR)
Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo, Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico, Fundação de Amparo à Ciência e Tecnologia do Estado de Pernambuco
Openalex Percentile: Top 78%
Soil Management and Crop Yield
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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