Paper · 2025 · Plant and Soil

Phytoremediation of road salt affected soils in the Toronto region using native halophytes

Lauren Nawroth; Lyndsay A. Cartwright; Allison Rutter; et al.

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claims
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verbatim quotes
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citations
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research areas
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Open access · cc-by-nc-nd

Abstract

Freshwater salinization is a growing concern in areas of the world experiencing freezing winter temperatures. Winter salt applied to roads can flow directly to surface water and groundwater, but can also be stored in roadside soil for months or years after application. Halophytes (i.e. salt-tolerant plants) remove excess salt from soil and can assist with remediation of saline soils. This study aimed to determine the ability of native halophytes to remediate road salt contaminated sites over two growing seasons. Four halophytes native to the Toronto, Canada region were planted in experimental plots next to a road that receives salt in the winter months. Two accumulator halophytes ( Panicum virgatum and Sporobolus cryptandrus ) and two recretohalophytes ( Sporobolus michauxianus and Bouteloua curtipendula ) were selected. Each species was planted in its own 2 × 6 m plot according to literature recommended planting densities. Plant and soil samples were collected at the end of each growing season to evaluate the amount of salt removed from soil and the amount of salt taken up by the plants. The accumulator, P. virgatum , and the recretohalophyte, S. michauxianus demonstrated the greatest potential for short remediation timelines (< 2 years after their second growing season). S. michauxianus and P. virgatum extracted approximately 22,000 mg/m 2 and 17,000 mg/m 2 of chloride over a single growing season, respectively. This is the first multi-year in situ study to examine the potential for halophytes to remediate road salt contamination. Halophytes provide a unique nature-based solution for the remediation and mitigation of road salt contamination .

Abstract from the paper’s OpenAlex record; open copy licensed cc-by-nc-nd. Read at the source ↗

The text the model read, with the source record’s inline markup (italics, sub- and superscripts) rendered and its character entities decoded; quote offsets refer to the raw text.

Claims 4

Observationobservedoriginal resultpositivemeasured

Claim · model-written summary

Panicum virgatum showed high potential for remediation within two years.

Taxon
P. virgatumPanicum virgatume0
Outcome
greatest potential for short remediation timelinese0
Value
< 2 yearse0

Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Panicum virgatum
Panicum virgatum · TaxonDaderot · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons ↗

Verbatim

e0

“P. virgatum , and the recretohalophyte, S. michauxianus demonstrated the greatest potential for short remediation timelines (< 2 years after their second growing season)”

✓ located verbatim in the source · abstract, characters 1123–1292 · show in text ↑
Observationobservedoriginal resultpositivemeasured

Claim · model-written summary

Sporobolus michauxianus showed high potential for remediation within two years.

Taxon
S. michauxianusSporobolus michauxianuse0
Outcome
greatest potential for short remediation timelinese0
Value
< 2 yearse0

Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Sporobolus michauxianus
Sporobolus michauxianus · Taxon · picture from its Wikimedia Commons categoryAyotte, Gilles, 1948- · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons ↗

Verbatim

e0

“S. michauxianus demonstrated the greatest potential for short remediation timelines (< 2 years after their second growing season)”

✓ located verbatim in the source · abstract, characters 1163–1292 · show in text ↑
Observationobservedoriginal resultpositivemeasured

Claim · model-written summary

Sporobolus michauxianus extracted approximately 22,000 mg/m 2 of chloride in one growing season.

Taxon
S. michauxianusSporobolus michauxianuse0
Outcome
extracted approximately 22,000 mg/m 2 and 17,000 mg/m 2 of chloridee0
Value
22,000 mg/m 2e0
Setting
single growing seasone0

Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Sporobolus michauxianus
Sporobolus michauxianus · Taxon · picture from its Wikimedia Commons categoryAyotte, Gilles, 1948- · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons ↗

Verbatim

e0

“S. michauxianus and P. virgatum extracted approximately 22,000 mg/m 2 and 17,000 mg/m 2 of chloride over a single growing season”

✓ located verbatim in the source · abstract, characters 1294–1422 · show in text ↑
Observationobservedoriginal resultpositivemeasured

Claim · model-written summary

Panicum virgatum extracted approximately 17,000 mg/m 2 of chloride in one growing season.

Taxon
P. virgatumPanicum virgatume0
Outcome
chloridee0
Value
17,000 mg/m 2e0
Qualifier
single growing seasone0

Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Panicum virgatum
Panicum virgatum · TaxonDaderot · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons ↗

Verbatim

e0

“S. michauxianus and P. virgatum extracted approximately 22,000 mg/m 2 and 17,000 mg/m 2 of chloride over a single growing season”

✓ located verbatim in the source · abstract, characters 1294–1422 · show in text ↑