Salinization is a threat that affects aquatic ecosystems worldwide. As primary producers, freshwater macrophytes are of paramount importance in these ecosystems, however, information regarding the potential impacts of salinization upon these organisms is still scarce. In this review we provide a comprehensive and updated discussion of how freshwater macrophytes deal with salinity increase in freshwaters. We reviewed the salinity tolerance of widespread non-halophyte macrophytes through an overview of salinity tolerance mechanisms, their tolerance classification, and salinity effects at different levels of organization: from individuals to ecosystems. Thus, we demonstrated that widespread macrophytes that inhabit freshwaters display efficient salinity tolerance to salinity levels between 5 and 10 g L-1, and only a few species display tolerance to salinities higher than 10 g L-1. Widespread macrophytes demonstrated salinity tolerance of approximately 5 g L-1. Widespread macrophytes demonstrated salinity tolerance of approximately 5 g L-1. Emergent, floating and submerged species showed no significant difference in salinity tolerance. Salinity stress symptoms in freshwater macrophytes are somewhat similar to those of terrestrial plants and can show up even at slight salinity increases. Salinities higher than 1 g L-1 can negatively affect both physiology and diversity of non-halophyte macrophytes and cause long-term - and not well understood - changes in freshwater ecosystems. Salinization of freshwater ecosystems, among others threats, in combination with climate change, raise concerns about the future ecological status of freshwater ecosystems and the services they can provide.
Keywords: Hydrophytes; Phytoplankton; Salinity tolerance; Shallow lakes.
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