The Biosaline Concept

There are many areas on this world which might lend themselves to agricultural development and which are, at the present, not used for this purpose. Two of the most obvious are desert areas where the salt concentration is very high, both land and water areas. With the development of new approaches and careful research, considerably more productive capability could be developed in these. This volume points out some of the possible approaches as well as results ob­ tained by a combination of creative research, practical understanding of the problems involved and inventive ways to overcome some of the handicaps of utilizing biosaline areas. This volume grew out of the "International Workshop on Biosaline Research" organized by Mr. Gilbert Devey of the Division of Interna­ tional programs of the National Science Foundation and directed by Dr. Anthony San Pietro of the Department of Biology of Indiana Uni­ versity. Since the proceedings of the workshop appeared somewhat limited, it was thought to broaden the spectra of chapters and in­ clude several topics briefly discussed at the Kiawah workshop.

Contenu

The Biosaline Concept.- Feed and Food from Desert Environments.- Salt Tolerance of Plants: Strategies of Biological Systems.- The Potential of Native Plants for Food, Fiber and Fuel in Arid Regions.- Production of Food Crops and Other Biomass by Seawater Culture.- Natural Halophytes as a Potential Resource for New Salt-Tolerant Crops: Some Progress and Prospects.- Silviculture with Saline Water.- Biochemical Control of Photosynthetic Carbon Assimilation in Marine Organisms for Food and Feed Production.- Biosaline Research: The Use of Photosynthetic Marine Organisms in Food and Feed Production.- Salt Tolerance in Microorganisms.- Prospects for Farming the Open Ocean.- Aquaculture of Animal Species.- Biological Waste Treatment at Elevated Temperatures and Salinities.- Chemicals and Fuels from Semi-Arid Zone Biomass.- Enzyme Technology: Potential Benefits of Biosaline Organisms.- Potential for Genetic Engineering for Salt Tolerance.- Ecological Consideration of Biosaline Resource Utilization.