Halophytes are salt-tolerant plants capable of completing their life cycle in soils with salt concentrations as high as 200 mM NaCl. and withstand severe abiotic constraints, such as salinity, light intensity, and drought. To manage such harsh conditions, and the resulting oxidative stress, halophytes are equipped with effective antioxidant defense systems, including enzymatic mechanisms (e.g. superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase) and improved synthesis and accumulation of secondary metabolites (e.g. phenolics, terpenoids). Such compounds display important bioactivities, including antioxidant, anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory, and antitumoral, leading to beneficial therapeutic properties linked to the use of some species in traditional medicine and as food. Halophytes have thus a high potential to provide high added-value products and can be commercially cultivated in saline conditions where the production of glycophytes is impossible, therefore having an important role within the context of soil and water salinization, sustainability, and climate change.
The problems associated with the salinization of soils and water bodies and the increasing competition for scarce freshwater resources are increasing. Recruiting wild halophytes with economic potential was suggested several decades ago to reduce the damage caused by the salinization of soil and water. The majority of the crop species used in traditional agriculture are salt sensitive (glycophytes), but the growth of several halophytes is stimulated within a salinity range of 15-25 dS/m. Halophytes are thus a real choice as adoption of new alternative highly salt-tolerant crops to be used in different saline systems, for sustainable water management and soil conservation, establishing cost-efficient and environmental-friendly agro-ecosystems and providing high added value products.
This research topic welcomes all the article types accepted by Frontiers in Plant Sciences from authors all over the world and will cover topics relevant to Halophytes, their valorization, and sustainable exploitation such as but not limited to the following areas:
• Physiology, and salt tolerance mechanisms
• Nutritional and anti-nutritional components
• Metabolomics
• Optimization of saline cultivation systems for selected species
• Recruiting novel species for saline cultivation
• Micropropagation
• Bioremediation
• Halophyte-based farming systems
• Biotechnological applications
• Bioactive properties
• Identification of novel species as sources of bioactive products
Please note: Descriptive studies that report responses of growth, yield or quality to agronomical treatments will not be considered if they do not progress physiological understanding of these responses.
Halophytes are salt-tolerant plants capable of completing their life cycle in soils with salt concentrations as high as 200 mM NaCl. and withstand severe abiotic constraints, such as salinity, light intensity, and drought. To manage such harsh conditions, and the resulting oxidative stress, halophytes are equipped with effective antioxidant defense systems, including enzymatic mechanisms (e.g. superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase) and improved synthesis and accumulation of secondary metabolites (e.g. phenolics, terpenoids). Such compounds display important bioactivities, including antioxidant, anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory, and antitumoral, leading to beneficial therapeutic properties linked to the use of some species in traditional medicine and as food. Halophytes have thus a high potential to provide high added-value products and can be commercially cultivated in saline conditions where the production of glycophytes is impossible, therefore having an important role within the context of soil and water salinization, sustainability, and climate change.
The problems associated with the salinization of soils and water bodies and the increasing competition for scarce freshwater resources are increasing. Recruiting wild halophytes with economic potential was suggested several decades ago to reduce the damage caused by the salinization of soil and water. The majority of the crop species used in traditional agriculture are salt sensitive (glycophytes), but the growth of several halophytes is stimulated within a salinity range of 15-25 dS/m. Halophytes are thus a real choice as adoption of new alternative highly salt-tolerant crops to be used in different saline systems, for sustainable water management and soil conservation, establishing cost-efficient and environmental-friendly agro-ecosystems and providing high added value products.
This research topic welcomes all the article types accepted by Frontiers in Plant Sciences from authors all over the world and will cover topics relevant to Halophytes, their valorization, and sustainable exploitation such as but not limited to the following areas:
• Physiology, and salt tolerance mechanisms
• Nutritional and anti-nutritional components
• Metabolomics
• Optimization of saline cultivation systems for selected species
• Recruiting novel species for saline cultivation
• Micropropagation
• Bioremediation
• Halophyte-based farming systems
• Biotechnological applications
• Bioactive properties
• Identification of novel species as sources of bioactive products
Please note: Descriptive studies that report responses of growth, yield or quality to agronomical treatments will not be considered if they do not progress physiological understanding of these responses.
