Working Group 2
Plant responses to salinity at the shoot and the root level
Description
Identify adaptive plant strategies to heterogeneous salinity under multiple stresses and formulate new research hypotheses and common goals for future experimental work and genetic improvement programs in order to characterise and quantify root-soil interactions in saline soils, and their potential in terms of the optimal soil and water management of these lands.
Objectives
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Tasks
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Task 2.1
A literature review on plant responses to heterogeneous (spatial and temporal) salinity;
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Task 2.2
A literature review on salt-induced nutritional modifications;
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Task 2.3
Propose new breeding targets considering the inherent soil heterogeneity and the interaction of salinity with other jointly-acting abiotic stresses and bring forward integrated phenotypes/ideotypes for stress tolerance taking into account recently published differences between salt tolerant and non-salt tolerant plants;
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Task 2.4
Collaborate with WG1 to receive input on soil chemical and biological functions and mechanisms under heterogeneous conditions;
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Task 2.5
Collection of information and new knowledge created and guidelines for new experimental work and how to harness plants’ abilities to forage the most optimal soil regions;
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Task 2.6
Formulate guidelines for the mixed cultivation of crop plants with selected salt-tolerant genotypes and/or plant lines (i.e. intercropping and agroforestry);
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Task 2.7
Prepare an open access database with promising indigenous and under-utilised crops, salt tolerant lines and crops of different crops, containing information related with advances in the study of plants response to salinity in terms of nutritional modifications. It will be started by partners of the COST Action but will be open for updates also by all other academics and linked to the e-platform);
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Task 2.8
Feed the new knowledge to WG3 for the preparation of the database (task 3.1), to facilitate exchange of knowledge, cross-disciplinary knowledge creation and capacity building across WGs.
Deliverables
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D2.1.1
Identification of the key adaptive/stress physiological, biochemical and molecular mechanisms in plants in saline soils (M0-12); D2.1.2. Identification of traits that interact to synergistically or antagonistically influence salt tolerance under multiple stresses(M0-18);
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D2.2
Literature reviews/collection of data to be used in the online platform collecting the state of the art on the responses of edible to salinity in terms of nutritional compounds changements (M18-36);
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D2.3
Literature reviews/opinion papers addressing the new breeding strategies for salt stress tolerance (M12-24, 36-48);
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D2.4
Literature review/reports on soil chemical and biological functions under salinity heterogeneous conditions (M12-24);
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D2.5
Publish collected information and new knowledge created and propose guidelines for new experimental work and how to harness plants’ abilities to forage the most optimal soil regions (M18-24, 30-36, 42-48);
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D2.6
Report listing guidelines for the mixed cultivation of crop plants with selected salt-tolerant genotypes and/or plant lines. Evaluation of cultivation and harvesting technologies (M18-36);
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D2.7
Preparation of a database of promising indigenous and under-utilised crops, salt tolerant lives and cultivars of different crops, and mapping of potential cultivation areas in Europe and beyond (M12-36);
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D2.8
Literature reviews/opinion papers addressing the exchange of knowledge, crossdisciplinary knowledge creation and capacity building (M18-30).