XVI International Botanical Congess
The salt flats of the Salt Plains National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma, USA is an extreme environment, with salinities ranging from near zero to saturation. Light, temperature, pH, salinity, and redox conditions fluctuate widely on yearly, monthly, daily, and sometimes hourly bases. Algae and cyanobacteria are found throughout the year on the salt flats in temporary solar evaporative ponds, temporary streams, rain runoff pools, and in algal/cyanobacterial patches on or near the surface of damp sandy soil.