Phytoextraction Potential of Atriplex Nummularia Plants under Nitrogen and Phosphate Fertilization

The soil areas affected by salts have increased in recent years. Searching intensively for management and recovery strategies should help minimize these problems. Studies related to the response of halophytes to fertilization can provide important information regarding the most adequate management for phytoremediation. The aim of this study was to evaluate dry matter production and sodium extraction capacity of atriplex plants, in response to nitrogen doses, with and without phosphorus application. The experiment was carried out in a greenhouse at the Federal Rural University of Pernambuco (UFRPE), in Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil and was set up in a randomized block design, with four replicates, in a 2 × 5 factorial scheme (0 and 134 mg dm^?3 of P and 0, 20, 40, 60, and 80 mg dm^?3 of N). The addition of nitrogen (N) and improved sodium (Na) uptake increased Na contents by 4.1, 3.6, and 1.8 times, for P0, and by 4.0, 8.4, and 2.1, for P134, in leaves, stems, and roots, respectively. There was a decrease in Na both in the saturation-paste extract and in the exchange complex with the increase in N in soil. N supply potentiates Na extraction by Atriplex nummularia, being a feasible technique to recover saline soils through phytoremediation.