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Road Salting Induces Regional-Scale Losses of Base Cations from Forested Watersheds

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Abstract

Road salt (NaCl) and acid deposition co-occur across much of North America and Europe. One such region is the Adirondack Park (AP) in New York, USA, where the effects of acid deposition have been widely studied and the effects of road salt have not. Road salt delivers 3560 Mmolc of Na to AP roads each year, which has significant potential to displace soil base cations and exacerbate ecosystem recovery from acidification. Our objective was to estimate the effect of road salt on soil base cation export for the AP. We used a simple steady state model based on estimated runoff and cation concentrations from lakes in watersheds with (n=84) and without (n=68) paved roads to estimate watershed export of Ca, Mg, K, and Na. Road salting resulted in significantly higher export for all cations, with 28, 15, 2, and 83 mmolc/m2/year more of Ca, Mg, K, and Na released, respectively, compared to watersheds without paved roads. Mineral weathering rates are insufficient to replace these lost cations and thus watershed recovery from acidification will be slower in the presence of road salt. Road salt should be included as a co-occurring stressor when assessing the impacts of pollutants on ecosystem health, not only in the AP but wherever road salt is applied.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to the Adirondack Lakes Survey Corporation for the use of the ALTM dataset and to Adirondack Lakes Assessment Program participants and our partner, Protect the Adirondacks. AWI laboratory instruments were purchased with funds from the National Science Foundation (award number 0722927).

Availability of Data and Material

The ALTM dataset is available for direct download at http://www.adirondacklakessurvey.org/ and the AWI dataset is available on request by contacting the corresponding author.

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This work was primarily supported with internal funds and partially supported by NSF grant MRE 0722927

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  1. Adirondack Watershed Institute, Paul Smith’s College, Routes 86 & 30, Post Office Box 265, Paul Smiths, NY, 12970, USA

    Daniel L. Kelting & Corey L. Laxson

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  1. Daniel L. Kelting
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Correspondence to Daniel L. Kelting.

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Kelting, D.L., Laxson, C.L. Road Salting Induces Regional-Scale Losses of Base Cations from Forested Watersheds. Water Air Soil Pollut 232, 207 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-021-05143-x

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