General Strategies

Salt resistance is the reaction of an organism to salt stress. Resistance can involve either salt tolerance or salt avoidance.

• Salt tolerance involves physiological and biochemical adaptations for maintaining protoplasmic viability as cells accumulate electrolytes.
• Salt avoidance involves structural with physiological adaptations to minimize salt concentrations of the cells or physiological exclusion by root membranes.

Halophytes are often classified as excretives and succulents. Another classification recognizes excluders versus includers.

• Excretives have glandular cells capable of secreting excess salts from plant organs.
• Succulents use increase in water content within large vacuoles to minimize salt toxicity.

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