Response of three shrub willow varieties (Salix spp.) to storm water treatments with different concentrations of salts

The effect of recycling storm water with high chloride concentrations on shrub willow growth was examined in a ten-week greenhouse study. Three willow varieties Salix miyabeana (SX64), Salix purpurea (9882-34), and Salix sachalinensis x Salix miyabeana (9870-40) were grown in organically-amended Solvay waste, and irrigated with five storm water concentrations containing 163, 325, 813, 1625, and 8125 mg Cl(-) L(-1) and a tap water control. Stomatal conductance values responded most rapidly to stress (after 4.5 weeks), but height and leaf length measurements, which revealed signs of stress after 6 and 7 weeks, might be more practical stress indicators for large-scale plantations. Even though variety 9870-40 was most sensitive with increasing concentrations of Solvay storm water, this variety had the greatest ET values during the ten-week trial. Storm water with concentrations up to 1625 mg Cl(-) L(-1) had no short-term effects on biomass accumulation and evapotranspiration. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.