Preliminary investigations of high salinity tolerant plants on the banks of Sabkhat al-Jabul

Abstract

The main aim of this research is to attract the attention of plant breeders, agriculturists, farmers, and others within the world States to the benefits of exploiting halophytes and to raise their profile as economically important plants in a world now facing an increase in soil salinity. Although most of our crop plants are sensitive to salinity, salt-tolerant plants, halophytes, have evolved and offer a potential as crops that can yield in saline areas or areas irrigated with saline water. This research was carried out on the banks of Sabkhat al-Jabul, which is a natural reserve, located 40 km southeast of Aleppo, in Syria, near the city of As-Safira. The length of the sabkha is 40 km from Jabbul in the north to the village of Rasm al-Nafl, and the width of the lake is between 3-10 km, with an area of approximately 260 km². The water depth is between 20cm - 160cm. This reserve is included in the list of fertile wetlands within the Ramsar Convention of 1971 and one of the natural reserves spread across Syria. The ten most important natural plant species spread on the banks of the sabkha and tolerating high salinity were listed. These species are: Aloe vera, Aeluropus littoralis, Juncus subulatus, Arthrocnemum glaucum, Seidlitzia Rosmarinus, Salicornia strobilacea, Gressa cretica, Launaea nudicaulis, Pulicaria inuloides, Fagonia bruguieri. With the aim of attracting the attention of plant breeders, agriculturists, farmers, and others in the region to the possible uses of halophytes. Halophytic species can be grown and irrigated with brackish water where good drainage is available and used for forage or fodder, to stabilize land, and to produce biomass for fuel. In the longer-term, the cultivation of horticultural crops and those grown for nutraceuticals or pharmaceuticals is feasible.