Salt

LSRCA guide

Vegetation

Vegetation varies in its reaction to soils with high salinity:

• Salt in soil water generally makes it more difficult for roots to take up water. This phenomenon mimics drought conditions for the plant.
• If passing traffic sprays salty water onto plants it can reduce cold hardiness in buds and new twigs. These then become more susceptible to freezing, mortality or deformation.
• In high enough concentrations sodium and chloride can also be directly toxic to plants. In some species the ions are absorbed by the plant and build up in the leaves causing them to die.

Generally, the vegetation growing closest to the source will be most strongly affected by salt. Plants actively growing in late winter (when salt levels are highest) are also more significantly affected. So, warm season grasses offer an advantage over cool season grasses, because they emerge later in the spring when excess salt has been flushed away. Resilient turf grasses are particularly useful in the design of vegetated filter strips, dry ponds and enhanced grass swales. The Ministry of Transportation have standardized a number of grass mixes. The 'Salt Tolerant Mix' is of particular value for low impact development applications alongside asphalt roadways and paved walkways.

Canada #1 Ground Cover (salt tolerant mix)

Common name	Scientific name	Proportion
Tall Fescue	Festuca arundinacea	25 %
Fults Alkali Grass	Puccinellia distans	20 %
Creeping Red Fescue	Festuca rubra	25 %
Perennial ryegrass	Lolium perrenne	20 %
Hard Fescue	Festuca trachyphylla	10 %

External links

• Smart about Salt

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Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority

A stormwater management strategy that seeks to mitigate the impacts of increased urban runoff and stormwater pollution by managing it as close to its source as possible. It comprises a set of site design approaches and small scale stormwater management practices that promote the use of natural systems for infiltration and evapotranspiration, and rainwater harvesting.

A mixture of mineral aggregates bound with bituminous materials, used in the construction and maintenance of paved surfaces.