Salt resistance of six alpine grass species in Qinghai Province

Stress caused by different NaCl concentrations, germination proportion chlorophyll content, proline content, MDA content, and soluble sugar content were measured during the germination and seedling period of six grass species. As NaCl concentrations increased, proline content and MDA content in leaves of all six grass species increased. Chlorophyll and soluble sugar content first decreased and then increased as NaCl concentrations increased. The membership function was used to evaluate the antisalinity of six grass species in germination and seedling periods. Results revealed the following order of salinity tolerance for the six grasses (from largest to smallest): Bromus inermis > Alopecurus pratensis > Roegneria grandiglumis > Elymus breviaristatus Tongde > Agropyron cristatum > Roegneria pauciflora Tongde.