Editing Halophyte (section)

== Uses ==
===Biofuel===
{{Main|Biofuel}}

Some halophytes are being studied for use as "3rd-generation" biofuel precursors. Halophytes such as ''[[Salicornia bigelovii]]'' can be grown in harsh environments and typically do not compete with food crops for resources, making them promising sources of [[biodiesel]] or [[bioalcohol]].<ref name=":4" /><ref>{{cite web |date=December 2013 |title=Fact Sheet: Alternative Fuels |url=https://www.iata.org/pressroom/facts_figures/fact_sheets/pages/alt-fuels.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201191340/https://www.iata.org/pressroom/facts_figures/fact_sheets/pages/alt-fuels.aspx |archive-date=2014-02-01 |access-date=2014-01-28 |publisher=[[IATA]]}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last1=Bresdin |first1=Cylphine |title=Comparison of Seed Production and Agronomic Traits of 20 Wild Accessions of Salicornia bigelovii Torr. Grown Under Greenhouse Conditions |date=2016 |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/B9780128018545000054 |work=Halophytes for Food Security in Dry Lands |pages=67–82 |publisher=Elsevier |language=en |doi=10.1016/b978-0-12-801854-5.00005-4 |isbn=978-0-12-801854-5 |access-date=2022-03-05 |last2=Glenn |first2=Edward P. |last3=Brown |first3=J. Jed}}</ref>

=== Phytoremediation ===
Halophytes like ''[[Suaeda]] salsa'' can store salt ions and [[rare-earth element]]s absorbed from soils in their tissues.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last1=Liang|first1=Jiaping|last2=Shi|first2=Wenjuan|date=2021|title=Cotton/halophytes intercropping decreases salt accumulation and improves soil physicochemical properties and crop productivity in saline-alkali soils under mulched drip irrigation: A three-year field experiment|url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0378429020313113|journal=Field Crops Research|language=en|volume=262|pages=108027|doi=10.1016/j.fcr.2020.108027|bibcode=2021FCrRe.26208027L |s2cid=230576810}}</ref> Halophytes can therefore be used in [[Phytoremediation]] measures to adjust salinity levels of surrounding soils.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last1=Brito|first1=Pedro|last2=Caetano|first2=Miguel|last3=Martins|first3=Marcelo D.|last4=Caçador|first4=Isabel|date=December 2020|title=Effects of salt marsh plants on mobility and bioavailability of REE in estuarine sediments|url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0048969720378451|journal=Science of the Total Environment|language=en|volume=759|pages=144314|doi=10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.144314|pmid=33338692|s2cid=229325441}}</ref> These measures aim to allow '''glycophytes''' to survive in previously uninhabitable areas through an environmentally safe, and cost effective process.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|last1=Mann|first1=Ellen|last2=Rutter|first2=Allison|last3=Zeeb|first3=Barbara|date=October 2020|title=Evaluating the efficacy of Atriplex spp. in the phytoextraction of road salt (NaCl) from contaminated soil|url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0269749120310459|journal=Environmental Pollution|language=en|volume=265|issue=Pt B|pages=114963|doi=10.1016/j.envpol.2020.114963|pmid=32806446|bibcode=2020EPoll.26514963M |s2cid=221162683}}</ref> A higher concentration of halophyte plants in one area leads to higher salt uptake and lower soil salinity levels.<ref name=":0" />

Different species of halophytes have different absorption capabilities.<ref name=":1" /> Three different halophyte species (''[[Atriplex patula]], [[Atriplex hortensis]],'' and ''[[Atriplex canescens|Atriplex canescans]])'' have been found to rehabilitate soils contaminated with [[Sodium chloride|road salt]] over varying lengths of time.<ref name=":2" />