Strategies of urban trees for mitigating salt stress: a case study of eight plant species

Key message: Some species synthesize larger amounts of polyprenols, which probably increase the plant’s ability to mitigate salt stress. Salt stress does not cause macronutrient deficiency in the leaves of urban trees. Ionic imbalance in the leaves caused by soil salinity worsens the health status of sensitive species. Abstract: Street trees are exposed to relatively high stress levels, and the average lifespan of street trees is shortened compared to those of trees living under controlled natural conditions. Soil salinity adversely affects trees at all stages of growth and development. This study attempts to determine how the urban environment, with particular emphasis on salt stress, affects tree species with different levels of salinity sensitivity. The aim of this study was to identify the strategies of eight tree species for mitigating salt stress based on the determination of the chemical composition of the macroelements in the leaves, the ionic imbalance, and the ability of the trees to synthesize and accumulate polyprenols in the leaves. The obtained results suggest that individual species implemented different strategies in response to salt stress. The low sensitivity species: Q. rubra, R. pseudoacacia, G. triacanthos and A. campestre. blocked the uptake of Cl and Na to the leaves. The medium-sensitivity species: P. x hispanica blocked the uptake of Cl and Na and G. biloba maintained very high contents of Cl and Na in its leaves without leaf damage and synthesized large amounts of polyprenols. G. triacanthos and A. campestre synthesized large amounts of polyprenols. The high-sensitivity species (T. x euchlora and A. platanoides) exhibited very high contents of Cl and Na in their leaves, which were significantly damaged and had a pronounced ionic imbalance. These effects were not compensated for by the increased synthesis of polyprenols. In conclusion, the accumulation of polyprenols in leaf tissue may be one of the strategies that increase the resistance of plants to salt stress. Plants have many other methods of mitigating salt stress.