Abstract:Salt stress not only affects the growth of plants, but also alters the micro-zone environment of the plant rhizosphere. The rhizosphere pH plays an important role in the bioavailability of soil nutrients and microbial community structure, and it is an important indicator of micro-environment transformation in the rhizosphere. Previous studies on the effects of the salt stress on beer barley mainly focused on the physio-ecology and agronomic aspects, such as photosynthesis, cell structure, and agronomic traits. However, the response of rhizosphere pH and ion characteristics in beer barley to various types of salt stress still remains unknown due to the complexity of the rhizosphere micro-environment. In order to detect the adaptation mechanisms in rhizosphere pH changes and the physiological and ecological responses of beer barley seedlings under various types of salt stress, the characteristics of growth and ion balance as well as rhizosphere pH were investigated. An incubation experiment using hydroponics was conducted in a climate growth chamber. Beer barley seedlings were grown in Hoagland nutrient solution with mixed sodium salts, mixed chlorine salts, and NaCl. The results indicated that 1) The shoot dry weight and water content of beer barley seedlings decreased, while root/shoot ratios increased under three different types of salt stress. In particular, shoot dry weights decreased significantly by 17.88%, while root dry weight and root/shoot ratios increased significantly by 19.12% and 43.86% under NaCl stress. The root length of beer barley seedlings decreased to a minimum, whereas the root surface area and volume increased under the three treatments. Among them, root surface area and root volume significantly increased by 41.76% and 84.38% under mixed chlorine salt stress, respectively. 2) The balance of selective uptake ions in shoots of beer barley seedlings were altered under three different types of salt stress. The absorption of Na+ in seedlings dominated under mixed sodium salt and NaCl stress, and the K+/Na+, Ca2+/Na+, and Mg2+/Na+ in the shoots decreased significantly. Cl- was absorbed excessively under mixed chlorine salt stress and NaCl stress, while the absorption of H2PO4-, NO3-, and SO42- was also suppressed. 3) The amount of OH- released by roots of beer barley seedlings was higher than the amount of H+ released under mixed sodium salt, mixed chlorine salt, and NaCl salt stress, which was close to the excess uptake of anions over cations. According to the results of ion balance, rhizosphere pH changes in beer barley seedlings were characterized by alkalization, which is consistent with the situ chromomeric reaction under three different types of salt stress. Among them, the intensity of alkalization was the strongest under mixed chlorine salt stress. The key findings are that the growth of beer barley seedlings was significantly inhibited under NaCl stress among the three different types of salt stress. There were differences in the selective uptake of various ions by seedlings, and rhizosphere pH is characterized by alkalization under salt stress. This study provided a theoretical basis for clarifying mechanisms and the relationship between ion absorption and rhizosphere pH changes in beer barley seedlings under different types of salt stress.