2. Adaptation strategies of halophytes to their environment

To survive and thrive in hostile environments (saline and/or dry), halophytes have had to evolve adaptive strategies that are more or less spectacular, but always interesting to study. For some halophytes, morphological adaptation involves hypertrophy of the aerial organs (= succulence) to build up water reserves in the stems or leaves (sea fennel, sea purslane, glasswort) (figure 2 ). These plants, most of which are found in the lowest areas of the foreshore (slikke and schorre), can tolerate salt concentrations of up to 60 g/L (as a reminder, seawater contains the equivalent of 34 g/L of salt). They have a hypertrophied, waterlogged aerial axis and a specialized root system that enables them to absorb water efficiently while preventing excessive salt infiltration....