Monitoring of the impact of road salting on spruce forest ecosystem in the vicinity of the highway D1 in the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands, Czech Republic
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2022 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | Environmental Science and Pollution Research |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Web | https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11356-021-16468-9 |
| Doi | http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-16468-9 |
| Keywords | spruce ecosystem; winter road maintenance; salt distribution; contamination |
| Description | Monitoring of pollution in the vicinity of roads connected to winter road maintenance is one of the important tools for optimizing winter maintenance technology and reducing its environmental impact. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between winter road maintenance and the increased concentration of sodium ion to characterize the harm caused by the de-icingagents on selected types of individual components grown in the Norway spruce ecosystem. The model area is located in the immediate vicinity of the D1 motorway connecting Prague and Brno (Czech Republic), at 103 km. The area is thus exposed to long-term contamination from automobile transport, and the monitoring was carried out for 3 consecutive years. A clear effect ofthe de-icing agents on conifers near the road has been demonstrated by the symptoms of salt damage visually observed in close proximity to the road (at a sampling distance of 5 m). The needles of these spruce trees also showed increased sodium concentrations, regardless of the age of the needles. The study also confirms that sodium accumulates in all selected components of the analysed ecosystem (moos, humus, soil). The sodium concentration has been found to decrease with increasing distance from the road for all of the components. |