Pedosphere 15(6): 784--791, 2005
ISSN 1002-0160/CN 32-1315/P
©2005 Soil Science Society of China
Published by Elsevier B.V. and Science Press
Salt dynamics in rhizosphere of Puccinellia ciliata Bor. in a loamy soil
ZHANG Zhen-Hua1,2, C. TANG2,4 and Z. RENGEL2,3
1 Agricultural Resource and Environmental Research Center, Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Nanjing 210014 (China). E-mail: zzhang@agric.uwa.edu.au
2 Soil Science and Plant Nutrition, School of Earth and Geographical Sciences, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley WA 6009 (Australia)
3 CRC Plant-Based Management of Dryland Salinity, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley WA 6009 (Australia)
4 Department of Agricultural Sciences, La Trobe University, Bundoora Vic 3086 (Australia)
ABSTRACT
      A glasshouse experiment using a rhizobox technique was conducted to examine salt dynamics in the rhizosphere of a salt-tolerant grass, Puccinellia ciliata Bor. ‘Irwin Hunter', grown in a loamy soil, and to study the effect of rainfall flush on salt accumulation in the rhizosphere. The rhizobox (10 × 5.5 × 50 cm) had a nylon mesh (1 μm) positioned vertically in the middle to create two compartments filled with soil amended with 1 g NaCl kg-1. The plants were grown in one compartment only. Flushed treatments received 275 mL of deionized water two days before harvest. In the plant-growing compartment, soils were sectioned vertically at 5 cm intervals. Significant differences in soil electrical conductivity (EC) (P < 0.05) and pH (P < 0.05) were observed for depths, but not between flushed and non-flushed treatments. In the no-plant compartment (rhizosphere), soil cores were taken horizontally at depths of 5, 20 and 40 cm and sliced at 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 10, 15 and 20 mm away from the roots. Soil EC and Cl- concentration at the 5 and 20 cm depths, and Na+ concentration at the 5 cm depth significantly decreased (P < 0.05) with the distance away from the root, but no significant differences were observed in soil pH and concentrations of the K+ and Ca2+. The flush treatment only had significant influence on soil EC, pH, and Cl- concentration at the 20 cm depth. Thus, salt accumulation could occur in the rhizosphere of salt-tolerant species on saline soils, and the periodic low rainfall might not have a strong influence on salt distribution in the rhizosphere and/or root zone.
Key Words:  leaching, Puccinellia ciliata Bor., rhizosphere, salt dynamics
Citation: Zhang, Z. H., Tang, C. and Rengel, Z. 2005. Salt dynamics in rhizosphere of Puccinellia ciliata Bor. in a loamy soil. Pedosphere. 15(6): 784-791.
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