Fine root growth and water use efficiency in alfalfa (Medicago sativa L. cv. Gongong No. 1) planted along a salinity gradient in coastal area of Dalian, Northeast China

The response of plant growth to a geographical salinity gradient under the current scenario from inland to seaside implies the possible future trend of plant development in response to sea-level rise driven by global warming. In the present study, alfalfa (Medicago sativa L. cv. Gongnong No. 1) was planted in sites along a salinity gradient in Dalian City, Northeast China. Fine root growth was investigated at three depths of 0-10cm, 10-20cm and 20-30cm. Meanwhile, another control experiment was conducted using potted alfalfa exposed to gradual levels of salinity at the same levels as the salinity gradients in the field to confirm the unique impact of soil salinity on alfalfa physiology. Results from both field and pot experiments indicated that the parameters of net photosynthesis rate (P-N), foliar transpiration (T-r) and water use efficiency (WUE) all decreased with the increase of gradient from inland to seaside. Root surface area also showed a general decline for all three soil depths, but differences among the three soil depths were not significant. Root diameter was greatest in soils at a depth of 0-10cm, while root tip number was greatest in soils at a depth of 10-20cm. All root morphological parameters decreased with salinity level along the geographical gradient from inland to coastal seaside, while both root surface area and root tip number positively correlated with soil ammonium and nitrate contents, respectively. Our results predicted that, driven by seawater intrusion from sea-level rise under global warming, future performance of inland alfalfa may suffer from severe soil salinity through constricting new root egress and elongation. This trend would be mainly driven by soil salinity which reduces photosynthesis by stimulating water loss in alfalfa.