Response of Salvinia spp. to different nitrogen sources: the acid-base regulation approach

This paper shows the importance of acid-base analyses and ¹³C measurements in the evaluation of the responses of Salvinia species' responses to different N sources. It also highlights the importance of these methodologies as potential tools in the study of differences between habitats and nutrient acquisition, particularly N. This study used three different species of Salvinia cultured in the absence of combined N or in the presence of either NO _inf3 ^sup– or NH _inf4 ^sup+ as N sources. The interaction between NO _inf3 ^sup– or NH _inf4 ^sup+ as N source and organic acid metabolism, and the information on diazotrophy from the organic acid measurements, were also examined. Nevertheless, the results presented may not be used per se to assign diazotrophy. Carboxylate (C-A) levels in the different Salvinia species are much lower than the norm for bryophytes and tracheophytes, consistent with previously published work on Azolla. This might be related to the aquatic life form of these plants, since they seem to have no potential to increase the availability of Fe or P by the acidification of their rooting medium (water) that a larger net synthesis of organic acids, with cation-H⁺ exchange, could achieve.