The pattern of crop response can also be a gradual change from normal plants to no growth at all. However, in some cultivated species, the plant is most sensitive to damage during germination or early growth stages. This may result in a pattern of sharp change from normal plants to bare ground where seeds failed to germinate. Often plants are able to flourish during later growth stages at salinity levels that would not have allowed germination or growth during earlier stages. Plant Indicators Plants can be used as indicators of saline and sodic conditions, because tolerance varies with plant species.
All plants attempt to adjust to osmotic moisture stress caused by salinity.
The osmotic adjustment requires energy that would otherwise be used for growth and production. As a result, when plants attempt to adjust, growth and yields are reduced. Some halophytes have developed sophisticated systems of taking in saline water, extracting the salts, and then excreting the salts. Although they often occur on saline soils, they are also regularly found in non-saline environments. Wild barley was the dominant plant along seep margins with low salinity.