## 2 Sustainable Farming and Saline Agriculture  
The ongoing climate change or climate crisis combined with land degradation and the ever-increasing world population necessitate the adoption of novel farming approaches within the concept of sustainability [32]. Considering that the available agricultural land is expected to decrease due to anthropogenic activities, marginal lands should be exploited with novel crops that could be profitable under unfavorable conditions while, at the same time, contributing to food security [33; 34; 35]. Other important issues for the Mediterranean farming are land fragmentation and labor shortages, which minimize the profit margins of crops and eventually lead to land abandonment [36; 37]. In most European and North Africa countries and several other parts of the world, small-scale and family farming are the backbone of crop production and are expected to be a pivotal driving force for securing food availability in the future [38]. Therefore, the introduction of novel and resilient-to-environmental-adversities species offers a viable option to farmers, while, at the same time, providing food products of high added value and improved quality [32]. In this context, saline agriculture may increase the available agricultural land through the exploitation of salinized soils and groundwater aquifers that are not appropriate for conventional crops [39]. The Mediterranean basin is abounding with wild plants that have a great potential as complementary/novelty crops, especially in arid and semi-arid regions where the cultivation of conventional crops is unviable [40]. Several studies have evaluated the introduction of wild edible species in commercial cropping systems, including purslane [41; 42], spiny chicory [43; 44; 45], _Silene vulgaris_[46], _Saliconnia_ and _Sacrocornia_[47; 48]. Sea fennel is a wild species that can be grown in saline soils as an alternative vegetable crop since its tender leaves are edible and have aromatic properties [8; 49]. Being a halophyte, sea fennel has various adaptive mechanisms for high salinity conditions. It is considered a halophyte, meaning it has developed a tolerance mechanism that allows it to overcome high salinity through the accumulation of Na\({}^{+}\) and Cl\({}^{+}\) in leaf vacuoles [9]. [PERSON] et al. [50] observed that the chloride (Cl\({}^{-}\)) concentration in the leaves of the species was lower than other halophytes (_Asteriscus maritinus_ and _Halimione portulacoides_) due to the reduction in Cl\({}^{-}\) uptake and the capacity of plants to excrete these anions from their leaves. Moreover, at the highest salinity level tested (300 mM NaCl), the same authors recorded a greater concentration of soluble sugars and proline in the leaves compared to the lowest salinity level (100 mM NaCl). An increase in the concentration of osmolytes such as proline, glycine betaine and soluble sugars due to salt stress was also observed by [PERSON] et al. [51] and [PERSON] [52]. However, [PERSON] et al. [51] reported that the concentration of the above-mentioned osmolytes was greater in the leaves compared to the roots. Another mechanism related to the salt tolerance of the species is associated with the spongy coat of seeds that accumulates 8-11 times more Na and Cl ions than seeds and probably protects the young seedlings from the adverse effects of salts, while they also allow for the dispersal of seeds in natural environments [53; 54]. Moreover, the succulent texture of the leaves, as well as the small density of leaf stomata and the high thickness of the cuticle, altogether contribute to the overall tolerance of the species against high salinity [9]. According to [PERSON] [55], the tolerance of the species under saline conditions is associated with the activity of antioxidant enzymes, which is gradually decreased with increasing salinity levels. Similarly, [PERSON] et al.