Halophytes of Pakistan: characteristics, distribution and potential economic usages

Abstract

Fresh water resources are becoming increasingly limited and agricultural irrigation systems will steadily increase in salinity in the near future. The time has come to develop sustainable biological production systems that can use low quality saline water for irrigation of halophytic crops in saline lands. A large number of halophytes could be used as cash crop (forage, fodder, fuel, medicine, chemicals, ornamentals etc). Pakistan spans a distance of 1,600 kilometers from the Arabian Sea to the playas of temperate northern mountains across deserts, plains and prairies, to the playas of temperate northern mountains covering an area of 800,000 square kilometers. The varied climatic conditions have resulted in a rich diversity of halophytic flora. Compared to the total 2,200 species reported worldwide, Pakistan alone has about 410 halophytes and 178 of them have not been reported before. About 274 of the total 410 halophytes reported here potentialy have economic usages.