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Re: helpful weed

Deborah Shanahan wrote:
> 
> Good point Carmen, maybe animals do benefit from the salt. Perhaps the
> plant can recombine the elements in the salt into other compounds. But we
> are guessing. Does anybody on the list know?
> 
> Debby
> 
> >I don't know.  What happens with other plants that act as biological filters?
> >I just thought the article was interesting because I have family in west Texas
> >and have seen areas of ground where nothing has grown for years due to oil
> >well spillovers.  Maybe the knotweed provides a source of salt for animals far
> >from either coast.
> >
> >Carmen
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Plants that tolerate saline conditions do so in different ways.  These
plants, called halopytes, have a variety of adaptations to saline
environments.  These adaptations are classified as morphological or
physiological.  Physiological mechanisms include osmoregulation, salt
compartmentation, and secretion.  I am not sure which of these
adaptations are the most distinct in knotweed.  I do know that USDA-NRCS
soil scientists have observed this species growing on sites damaged by
oil brine in Southeastern Illinois.  This species has been observed on
some pretty "hot" sites.

Brett Roberts
State Conservation Agronomist

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