Spatial Salinity Heterogeneity in Soil: Evaluating Compensatory Growth in Hordeum Vulgare

Overview

Agricultural sustainability is threatened by soil salinization, a form of land degradation that reduces land use. Soil salinity disrupts water uptake and ion balance, which affects early plant development even in salt-tolerant species such as barley. This study investigates effects of spatial salinity heterogeneity on early barley growth using a split-root system with three soil configurations: non-saline (NN), heterogeneous saline (SN), and uniformly saline (SS). Growth was measured over 28 days using shoot height, fresh and dry biomass, leaf number, and tiller number. Results showed significant differences among treatments, following NN > SN > SS. SN plants maintained higher biomass and tiller numbers than SS plants despite partial exposure to saline and exhibited linear growth resembling NN. These findings suggest that barley can exhibit growth under heterogeneous salinity, emphasizing importance of reducing salinity stress and supporting crop performance in affected soils. Image courtesy of the International Center for Biosaline Agriculture

Awards (1)

• Selected for CWSF 2026

Competition history

• CWSF 2026 Agriculture, Fisheries & Food

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