three plants of different species grow in deep sand
Psammophytes of three different species in the Sahara desert

A psammophyte is a plant that grows in sandy and often unstable soils. Psammophytes are commonly found growing on beaches, deserts, and sand dunes. Because they thrive in these challenging or inhospitable habitats, psammophytes are considered extremophiles, and are further classified as a type of psammophile.

Etymology

The word "psammophyte" consists of two Greek roots, psamm-, meaning "sand", and -phyte, meaning "plant".[1][2][3] The term "psammophyte" first entered English in the early twentieth century via German botanical terminology.[4]

Description

Psammophytes are found in many different plant families, so may not share specific morphological or phytochemical traits. They also come in a variety of plant life-forms, including annual ephemerals, perennials, subshrubs, hemicryptophytes, and many others.[5][6] What the many diverse psammophytes have in common is a resilience to harsh or rapidly fluctuating environmental factors, such as shifting soils, strong winds, intense sunlight exposure, or saltwater exposure, depending on the habitat.[6][7] Psammophytes often have specialized traits, such as unusually tenacious or resilient roots that enable them to anchor and thrive despite various environmental stressors.[8] Those growing in arid regions have evolved highly efficient physiological mechanisms that enable them to survive despite limited water availability.[9][10]

Distribution and habitat

sparse grass plants growing in loose sand
Grass family psammophytes of the Sahara desert in Algeria
grass-like plants growing in deep sand drifts with bluffs in the distance
Psammophytes growing in sand drifts at Duna de Bolonia, Tarifa, Cádiz, Andalusia, Spain
Haloxylon ammodendron, Mongolian psammophyte

Psammophytes grow in regions all over the world and can be found on sandy, unstable soils of beaches, deserts, and sand dunes.[5][6][7][11][12] In China's autonomous Inner Mongolia region, psammophytic woodlands are found in steppe habitats.[13]

Ecology

Psammophytes often play an important ecological role by contributing some degree of soil stabilization in their sandy habitats.[14] They can also play an important role in soil nutrient dynamics.[15] Depending on the factors at play at a given site, psammophyte communities exhibit varying degrees of species diversity.[16][17][5][12] For example, in the dunes of the Sahara Desert, psammophyte communities exhibit limited diversity and are predominantly made up of plants from the grass and mustard families.[5]

Like many other types of plants, psammophytes can have symbiotic relationships with microorganisms called endophytes that live inside of their tissues, which can impart enhanced growth or other benefits.[18]

Conservation

A major threat to psammophytes in many regions is dune destabilization, which is exacerbated by human development projects and factors associated with climate change, such as drought and temperature increases.[11] Encroachment of non-psammophytic plants and invasive species poses another threat to psammophyte species in some areas.[12][16][19] Ecological restoration efforts in psammophyte habitats often aim to utilize the natural soil stabilizing and nutrient enhancement abilities of psammophytes as part of restoration strategies.[16][15] Another important strategy is restoring and protecting the requisite soil microbiome some psammophytes require to thrive.[19]

China's Minqin Garden of Desert Plants is one organization that is actively working on efforts to conserve both wild and horticultural psammophyte species.[20]

Examples

Some examples of psammophyte species include:


See also

References

  1. ↑ "psammophyte". Merriam-Webster. 2015. Retrieved 2022-05-07.
  2. ↑ Harper, Douglas (2015). "sand (n.)". Etymonline. Retrieved 2022-05-07.
  3. ↑ Harper, Douglas (2015). "phyto-". Etymonline. Retrieved 2022-05-07.
  4. ↑ "psammophyte". Oxford: Lexico. 2022. Retrieved 2022-05-07.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Azizi, Marouane; Chenchouni, Haroun; Belarouci, Mohammed El Hafedh; Bradai, Lyès; Bouallala, M'hammed (2021). "Diversity of psammophyte communities on sand dunes and sandy soils of the northern Sahara desert". Journal of King Saud University - Science. Elsevier BV. 33 (8): 101656. doi:10.1016/j.jksus.2021.101656. ISSN 1018-3647. S2CID 239955631.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Neto, Carlos; Fonseca, João Paulo; Costa, José Carlos; Bioret, Frédéric (2015-01-02). "Ecology and phytosociology of endangered psammophytic species of the Omphalodes genus in western Europe". Acta Botanica Gallica. Informa UK Limited. 162 (1): 37–54. doi:10.1080/12538078.2014.981290. hdl:10400.5/7798. ISSN 1253-8078. S2CID 85794427.
  7. 1 2 3 Qu, H; Zhao, H; Zhou, R; Zuo, X; Luo, Y; Wang, J; Orr, BJ (2014-02-21). "Effects of sand burial on the survival and physiology of three psammophytes of Northern China". African Journal of Biotechnology. 11 (20): 4518–4529. ISSN 1684-5315. Retrieved 2022-05-08.
  8. ↑ Jian-Hui, DU; An-Long, LIU; Yu-Xiang, DONG; Mian-You, HU; Jie, LIANG; LI Wei, and (2014). "Architectural characteristics of roots in typical coastal psammophytes of South China". Chinese Journal of Plant Ecology. 38 (8): 889–896. doi:10.3724/sp.j.1258.2014.00083. ISSN 1005-264X.
  9. ↑ Liu, Meiling; Zhu, Ruiqing; Zhang, Zhishan; Liu, Lichao; Hui, Rong; Bao, Jingting; Zhang, Hao (2016-03-02). "Water use traits and survival mechanisms of psammophytes in arid ecosystems". Arid Land Research and Management. Informa UK Limited. 30 (2): 166–180. doi:10.1080/15324982.2015.1090498. ISSN 1532-4982. S2CID 130013224.
  10. 1 2 Zhao, Li; Li, Wanjing; Yang, Guang; Yan, Ke; He, Xinlin; Li, Fadong; Gao, Yongli; Tian, Lijun (2021-02-11). "Moisture, Temperature, and Salinity of a Typical Desert Plant (Haloxylon ammodendron) in an Arid Oasis of Northwest China". Sustainability. 13 (4): 1908. doi:10.3390/su13041908. ISSN 2071-1050.
  11. 1 2 Thomas, Kathryn A.; Redsteer, Margaret H. (2016-04-27). "Vegetation of semi-stable rangeland dunes of the Navajo Nation, Southwestern USA". Arid Land Research and Management. Informa UK Limited. 30 (4): 400–411. doi:10.1080/15324982.2016.1138157. ISSN 1532-4982. S2CID 131666486.
  12. 1 2 3 Valcheva, Magdalena; Sopotlieva, Desislava; Meshinev, Tenyo; Apostolova, Iva (2018-09-06). "Is penetration of non-psammophytes an underestimated threat to sand dunes? - a case study from western Pontic coast". Journal of Coastal Conservation. Springer Science and Business Media LLC. 23 (2): 271–281. doi:10.1007/s11852-018-0656-3. ISSN 1400-0350. S2CID 134078826.
  13. ↑ Cui, Haiting; Liu, Hongyan; Yong, Shipeng (2009). "Psammophytic woodlands of the steppe zone in Inner Mongolia". Contemporary Problems of Ecology. Pleiades Publishing Ltd. 2 (4): 348–352. doi:10.1134/s1995425509040080. ISSN 1995-4255. S2CID 9173750.
  14. ↑ Symonides, E. (1985). "Population Structure of Psammophyte Vegetation". The Population Structure of Vegetation. Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands. pp. 265–291. doi:10.1007/978-94-009-5500-4_12. ISBN 978-94-010-8927-2.
  15. 1 2 Ning, Zhiying; Zhao, Xueyong; Li, Yulin; Wang, Lilong; Lian, Jie; Yang, Hongling; Li, Yuqiang (2021). "Plant community C:N:P stoichiometry is mediated by soil nutrients and plant functional groups during grassland desertification". Ecological Engineering. Elsevier BV. 162: 106179. doi:10.1016/j.ecoleng.2021.106179. ISSN 0925-8574. S2CID 233532891.
  16. 1 2 3 Martínez, M. Luisa; Hesp, Patrick A.; Gallego-Fernández, Juan B. (2013). "Coastal Dune Restoration: Trends and Perspectives". Restoration of Coastal Dunes. Springer Series on Environmental Management. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Berlin Heidelberg. pp. 323–339. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-33445-0_20. ISBN 978-3-642-33444-3. ISSN 0172-6161.
  17. ↑ Liu, Zhimin; Li, Xiaolan; Yan, Qiaoling; Wu, Jianguo (2007). "Species richness and vegetation pattern in interdune lowlands of an active dune field in Inner Mongolia, China". Biological Conservation. Elsevier BV. 140 (1–2): 29–39. doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2007.07.030. ISSN 0006-3207. S2CID 38620804.
  18. ↑ Zhu, Yanlei; She, Xiaoping (2018). "Evaluation of the plant-growth-promoting abilities of endophytic bacteria from the psammophyte Ammodendron bifolium". Canadian Journal of Microbiology. Canadian Science Publishing. 64 (4): 253–264. doi:10.1139/cjm-2017-0529. hdl:1807/82585. ISSN 0008-4166. PMID 29370531.
  19. 1 2 Souza-Alonso, Pablo; Lechuga-Lago, Yaiza; Guisande-Collazo, Alejandra; González, Luís (2022-03-05). "Evidence of functional and structural changes in the microbial community beneath a succulent invasive plant in coastal dunes". Journal of Plant Ecology. Oxford University Press (OUP). 15 (6): 1154–1167. doi:10.1093/jpe/rtac026. ISSN 1752-993X.
  20. ↑ "Minqin Garden of Desert Plants". tools.bgci.org. Retrieved 2022-05-08.
  21. ↑ Lemauviel, Servane; Gallet, Sébastien; Rozé, Françoise (2003). "Sustainable management of fixed dunes: example of a pilot site in Brittany (France)". Comptes Rendus Biologies. Elsevier BV. 326: 183–191. doi:10.1016/s1631-0691(03)00056-8. ISSN 1631-0691. PMID 14558468.
  22. ↑ Marshall, John (1968). "Factors Limiting the Survival of Corynephorus canescens (L.) Beauv. in Great Britain at the Northern Edge of Its Distribution". Oikos. 19 (2): 206–216. doi:10.2307/3565008. JSTOR 3565008.
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