Effects of continual burial by sediment on seedling emergence and morphology of Suaeda salsa in the coastal marsh of the Yellow River estuary, China

A greenhouse study was conducted to determine the impacts of continual burial on seedling emergence and morphology of Suaeda salsa, a pioneer species in the coastal marsh of the Yellow River estuary. From May to June 2012, seeds of S. salsa were artificially buried to depths of 0 cm (no burial), 2 cm (burial of 1 mm d−1), 4 cm (burial of 2 mm d−1), 6 cm (burial of 3 mm d−1), 8 cm (burial of 4 mm d−1) and 10 cm (burial of 5 mm d−1) in plastic pots filled with unsterilized sediment. Results showed that the percent emergence of seedlings had a significantly negative correlation with continual burial depth (p