Selectivity of various types of salt-resistant plants for K+ over Na+

Selectivity by whole plants for K+ over Na+ in three types (salt excluding, salt secreting and salt diluting) of salt-resistant plants was investigated. An estimating formula of Selective Absorption (SA) capacity of root systems was derived; the Selective Transport (STn) capacities between K+ and Na+ by various parts of the three types of plants were compared. The results showed that the SA value of salt-excluding plants were higher than that of salt-secreting and salt-diluting plants, the ST1 (root:stem) value was much higher, indicating that both the capacity of selective absorption and the capacity of selective transport by root systems were strong. In salt-secreting plants, the SA value lay between salt-diluting and salt-excluding plants, while the ST1 value was the lowest, indicating that the majority of Na+ uptake by root systems was transported up to their aerial parts and then the surplus salt was secreted in salt glands. In salt-diluting plants, the SA value was the lowest, indicating that the majority of Na+ taken up by the root systems entered into plant body perhaps to satisfy the requirements for osmotic adjustment and growth, and the ST1 value lay between salt-secreting and salt-excluding plants. These data strongly indicate that the SA and ST1 values reflect the K+ and Na+ selectivity characteristics of salt-resistant plants. Therefore, the various types of salt-resistant plants would be classified by using the values of SA and ST1. We suggest that this provides a way for distinguishing various types of salt-resistant plants. Comparing the STn values of the six species in our paper, we concluded that the selectivity of transporting K+ over Na+ into the actively photosynthesizing organs and particularly into the developing ears is extremely high. Our conclusion is in accordance with previous results that demonstrate that the capacities of selective transport by different parts of the plant for K+ over Na+ are best quantified by STn values. The necessity, feasibility and wide-ranging applicability of the formulas for estimating SA and STn values have been discussed in detail. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd.