Both the growth and survival of landscape plants are difficult due to the harsh natural conditions in coastal areas of southern China. Many plants suffer from symptoms of salt damage. Different from the damages by salt in the soil, the symptoms of windblown salt are damage to young shoots and leaves. Plants at the windward side are damaged more than the leeward side. These cha-racteristics imply that the damage is due to salt in aerosols instead of salt in the soil. To test this hypothesis, we measured plant growth, soil and climate factors in 24 frontline coastal counties and cities of China. The results showed that the first-line coastal plants showed strong symptoms of salt damage, especially in the Taiwan Strait area (85.4% belonged to desalinized soil), and that the damage level was highly correlated with wind speed. Our results confirmed that aerosol salt is the major cause of plant damage in the coastal areas of southern China. We constructed the first distribution map of salt damage along frontline coastal regions of southern China and proposed methods for diagnosing aerosol salt damage. Selecting and configuring aerosol salt-tolerant plants, greening engineering measures, and follow-up maintenance were suggested for improving the overall effect and level of landscaping in the coastal areas of southern China.
南方滨海地区自然条件恶劣,植物长势差、存活困难,相当一部分绿化植物表现出一定程度的盐害症状。但这些植物的盐害症状不同于常规的土壤盐害,表现出幼芽幼叶首先受害、迎风面受害症状重于背风面等,推测植物受害原因并非土壤含盐量过高。本研究在植物长势评估的基础上结合土壤及气候分析,对中国南方滨海地区一线海岸24个县市开展了调研。结果表明: 一线海岸植物表现出较强的盐害症状,尤其是台湾海峡区域,但85.4%属脱盐土,且植物盐害等级与风速呈极显著相关,因此提出南方滨海地区绿化植物盐害主要原因是盐雾危害。绘制了首张南方滨海地区一线海岸植物盐害等级分布图,提出了一套植物盐雾危害的诊断方法,并就耐盐雾植物的筛选与配置、绿化工程措施及后期养护等提供了一系列建议,以期切实提高南方滨海地区园林绿化的整体景观效果和水平。.
Keywords: landscaping; plant growth; salt damage; salt spray; wind speed.