Unlike
animals, plants have no way of excreting excess salt from their system. During
winter season, vegetation is highly affected because of the spread of salt to
prevent further icing on roads to make it safely passable. Road salt affects
vegetation by:
a.
Increasing water stress – in roots when water molecules are held tightly by
salt ions, absorption of water in sufficient quantities cannot be achieved by
plants.
b. Generating poor
soil quality – when soil has too much sodium content, soil compaction and
density increases. When this happens drainage and proper aeration of plants are
compromised.
c. Having poor mineral
nutrition – when too much sodium and chloride are found in the soil, plants
absorb them readily instead of other nutrients like phosphorus and potassium.
This causes mineral deficiencies in plants and might hamper its growth and
development.
