The symposium on high salinity tolerant plants, held at the University of Al Ain in December 1990, dealt primarily with plants tolerating salinity levels exceeding that of ocean water and which at the same time are promising for utilization in agriculture or forestry.
The papers of the proceedings of this symposium have been published in two volumes. This volume (1) deals with mangroves and inland high salinity tolerant plants and ecosystems and is divided into the following categories: 1. Vegetation analyses and descriptions of mangroves; 2. Ecosystem analyses; 3. Physiological analyses; 4. Utilization of mangroves and saltmarsh plants; 5. Soil and water analyses. Volume 2 deals with the improvement of salinity tolerance for traditional crops under marginal soils and irrigation water and is published in `Tasks for Vegetation Science' series (TAVS) Vol. 28.

Inhalt
1.Seawater irrigation studies in the United Arab Emirates an introduction to the Al Ain Conference.- 11 Vegetation and descriptions of mangroves.- Geomorphological and climatic setting and the development of mangrove forests.- Halophytes in China: Floristic distribution and vegetation type.- A contribution to the halophytic vegetation and flora of Iran.- Environmental aspects of geographical distribution of mangrove in the United Arab Emirates.- Characteristics of mangrove soils and vegetation of Bay Islands in India.- Environment and vegetation of Sundarban mangrove forest.- Rehabilitation and management of mangrove forests of Pakistan.- Zonation and distribution of creek and fringe mangroves in the semi-arid Kenyan coast.- Mangroves of arid environments of Latin America.- Mangroves of arid regions of Puerto Rico and the Caribbean.- Ecological parameters of the mangroves of semi-arid regions of Mexico: Important for ecosystem management.- Ecosystem analyses.- Mangrove ecosystem as soil, water and plant interactive system.- Net primary production, biomass turnover and transpiration efficiency of Porterasia coarctata Takeoka in Sundarbans mangrove swamps, India.- Study of biomass, litter fall and litter decomposition in managed and unmanaged mangrove forests of Andaman Islands.- Macrobenthic invertebrates of mangrove, Avicennia marina (Forskal), and of intertidal flats of Khor Kalba, U.A.E., Gulf of Oman.- Salt tolerant bacteria from the rhizosphere of mangrove plants.- Age-specific survival, mortality and reproduction, and prospects for conservation of the salt-tolerant Limonium delicatulum.- Physiological analyses Mangroves and saltmarsh species.- Influence of salinity on mangrove zonation.- Effect of salinity on the growth of some mangrove plants in Bangladesh.-Diurnal water relations and the salt content of two contrasting mangroves growing in hypersaline soils in tropical-arid Australia.- Physiological adaptations to different salinity levels in mangrove.- Effect of available rooting volume on seedling growth.- Soil aeration as an ecological factor governing mangrove zonation.- Preliminary studies on the effect of different salinity levels on germination, growth and anatomy of mangrove (Avicennia marina).- Interelement correlations in the mangrove, Rhizophora mangle L..- Biochemical changes induced by sodium carbonate and bicarbonate in the halophytes Suaeda maritima and Suaeda nudiflora of Tuticorin Coast.- Preliminary studies of growth of Triglochin striata.- Chemical analysis of Atriplex species grown at Nubaria in a calcareous soil.- Importance of mineral nutrient cycling for salinity tolerance of plants.- Plant growth response to salt stress.- Soil-plant-water relationships of Eclipta alba (Hassk.) in a salt-affected terrestrial ecosystem.- Phytohormonal approach to salinity resistance.- Elucidation of the role of osmoprotective compounds and osmoregulatory genes: The key role of bacteria.- Germination response under elevated salinities of six semi-arid bluebush species (Western Australia).- Utilization of mangroves and saltmarsh plants.- Constraints on the growth, propagation and utilization of mangroves in arid regions.- Human impact on the mangrove of Khor Farasan Island, Southern Red Sea coast of Saudi Arabia.- Studies on the role of salt-tolerant plants in the formation and stabilization of coastal dunes of the deltaic Sunderbans, North-East coast of India.- Development of an intertidal mangrove nursery and afforestation techniques along the Indian coast.- Halophyte crops for direct salt water irrigation.- Adaptation of plants to saline conditions in arid regions.- Salt-tolerant plants for the arid regions of the Mediterranean isoclimatic zone.- On the ecology of Zygophyllum aegyptium in Egypt.- The effect of soil salt content on the internal structure of Zygophyllum ssp. in U.A.E. (A comparative study).- Utilization of high salinity tolerant plants and saline water by desert animals.- Australian experiences with high salinity diets for sheep.- Kochia: A new alternative for forage under high salinity conditions of Mexico.- Soil and water analyses.- Distribution pattern of soil microbial population in salt-affected soils.- The effect of salinity on some halophilic soil fungi.- Sulphur and irrigation management for salinity control in desert soils.- Sodic soil reclamation.- Salinity problems in acid sulfate coastal soils.- Soils of the mangrove habitats in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.- Comprehensive analytical modeling of transient phreatic surface in arid regions.- Index of keywords.