The threshold of soil moisture and salinity influencing the growth of Populus euphratica and Tamarix ramosissima in the extremely arid region

The drought and salt tolerance of two pioneer species, Populus euphratica and Tamarix ramosissima, were studied by monitoring the stem and leaf water potentials under various soil moisture and salinity at depths of 0–180 cm. The plants are naturally distributed in arid environment in the lower reaches of the Tarim River in Xinjiang, China. The results showed that P. euphratica can withhold water by prolonging dewatering and adapt to the dry desert weather by reducing water consumption. The lowest soil moisture that would unfavorably influence its growth was found to be 7% soil moisture. T. ramosissima was found to have low water potential and high transpiration efficiency. It is capable of absorbing water from the soil by keeping a low water potential, so there is no critical limit of soil moisture for T. ramosissima. In terms of salt resistance, P. euphratica was found to secrete salt from its body by discharging salty water through portals in its trunks and leaves. A soil salinity of 20% was the minimum concentration at which the salt secretion mechanism of P. euphratica was activated. T. ramosissima secreted salt by storing the accumulated salt in the vacuoles of its salt secretion glands for separation. Thus, it has no minimum soil salinity limit. T. ramosissima was found to have better resistance to drought and salt stress than P. euphratica.