Abstract: Taking Ajania shiwogiku var. kinokuniense, Artemisia japonica, Artemisia vulgaris, and Chrysanthemum indicum var. maruyamanum as test
plants, a hydroponic experiment was conducted to screen the appropriate concentration for salttolerance, and to compare the salttolerance of test plants. The culture medium Hogland solution was added with 0, 75, 100, 150, 250, and 400 mmol·L^-1 of NaCl, and the changes of plant morphological characteristics were observed. The results showed that 100 and 150 mmol·L^-1 of NaCl were the appropriate concentrations for testing salttolerance. Obvious injury symptoms appeared at 10 days and 6 days under 100 and 150 mmol·L^-1 of NaCl stress, respectively. The salttolerance of the four species was evaluated in terms of root vigor, malondialdehyde and chlorophyll contents, and morphological changes under 120 mmol·L^-1 of NaCl. Subordinate function value analysis showed that the salttolerance was in order of Chrysanthemum indicum var. maruyamanum<Ajania shiwogiku var. kinokuniense<Artemisia vulgaris<Artemisia japonica, being consistent with the results evaluated by the index of 50% injured leaf area.

Key words: Middle reaches of Tarim River, Niche breadth, Niche overlap, Species, Xinjiang