The reach of road salt into vernal pools and the response of amphibians.

ABSTRACT: Deicing salts are causing freshwater wetlands to become increasingly saline near roadways, with cascading impacts on local ecosystems. Understanding the full reach of salt into surrounding landscapes can inform the decisions made every winter about roadway management. We measured conductivity and surveyed for vernal-pool obligate species at 541 wetlands identified as potential vernal pools in western Massachusetts, USA, estimating that the salt effect zone extends as far as 167 m to 251 m from roadways. For the smallest wetlands with perimeters under 100 m, the salt effect zone extends to between 81 and 128 m. The mean conductivity of wetlands beyond 251 m was 91 μS/cm (SD = 109 μS/cm), whereas mean conductivity was 168 μS/cm (SD = 180 μS/cm) between 167 m and 251 m, and 274 μS/cm (SD = 34

SUBMITTER: Charney ND 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12548906 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature