Evaluation of salinity tolerance of some afforestation and landscaping plants

Urban pollution and the fatigue caused by urbanization have been two major problems for the residents of large and industrial cities. By exploiting the potential of plants through afforestation in the suburbs or by creating landscapes and greenery within the city, these limitations can be partially eliminated. Many urban areas, especially in arid and semi-arid regions, have saline water and soil resources for a variety of reasons, and the development of vegetation is facing a very serious problem; moreover, due to population growth, drinking water resources for irrigation are very limited. In this regard, the selection of plant species that can withstand the saline conditions is of particular importance and can contribute to the sustainability of the green cover created. In this article, while reviewing studies on salinity and landscape creation, a number of important species used in arid and semi-arid regions are introduced and their tolerance to salinity is presented based on the indices mentioned in literature. The introduced plants are divided into five groups of sensitive (-1), moderately sensitive (3 - 6 dS m-1), moderately tolerant (6 - 8 dS m-1), tolerant (8 - 10 dS m-1) and, highly tolerant (>10 dS m-1). The salinity values are related to the salinity of the soil saturation extract around the root.