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Denitrification is an important pathway of NO removal depending on wetland soil characteristics. Most studies on denitrification have been conducted in the freshwater wetlands and coastal marshes, but little information is available on how soil and environmental factors affect denitrification of saline wetlands in semi-arid regions. We conducted a correlative study on denitrification potential in relation to the physicochemical and biological characteristics. Composite soil samples of different depths were collected from different halophyte communities along a saline-impact gradient around Wuliangsuhai Lake, i.e. Comm. Salicornia europaea (CSE), Comm. Suaeda glauca (CSG), Comm. Kalidium foliatum (CKF) and Comm. Sophora alopecuroides (CSA). The CSA soil profile showed the fastest denitrification kinetics and tended to yield the largest amount of N2O, followed by the CKF, CSG and CSE. The mean of potential denitrification rates was the highest across all depths of the CSA soil profile, followed by the CKF. CSG, and CSE. Principal component analysis indicated that exchangeable sodium percentage was a key factor to denitrification potential, apart from organic carbon, nitrate and denitrifying bacteria. The results could have significant implication in integrated assessment and management of salined wetlands for treating nutrient-rich return water from farmland, industrial wastewater and domestic sewage in the diverted trunk drain used for the lakeshore restoration. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.