At present, soil science describes two major types of soil salinization: primary (native)and secondary (anthropic). While the first type is developed due to natural geological,hydrological and pedological processes, the second refers to human-caused factors,mainly as a consequence of improper irrigation management. But sometimes usingan ecological-anatomical approach in understanding the interrelations at the level ofrhizosphere could reveal new and interesting aspects. For instance, it may be possiblethat plants induce soil salinization due to a set of anatomical adaptations, allowingthem to absorb, conduct and excrete saline solutions. Tamarix ramosissima shows the“ideal” example of a plant able to produce soil salinization. This is a halophyte species,being also a phreatophyte, meaning that he has specialised roots that can draw waterfrom deep underground. In addition, the leaves of Tamarix posses specialised saltglands, which exude high amount of salts, raising the salt content of the soil, leading toloss of saline-intolerant native plants and pasture. It may be assumed that species withno deep root system, which are not exploiting the salt water table, are exposed to asalinity “provided” by secretory activity of Tamarix species. In this way, non-tolerantsalt plants are eliminated by the incremental salinity in the rhizosphere. Since salinityoccurred as a result of whole plant activity (Tamarix) and affecting other species withno salt-copying mechanisms, we suggest that this new type of salinization be calledphyto-salinization. The place and the relevance of this new proposal in soil sciencewould be specified by further considerations.
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