Effects of applying deicing salt to roads in protected areas: a preliminary study in the Bavarian Forest National Park

Abstract

the negative effects of applying deicing salts to ecosystems are well documented for many countries. in some countries, the application of the deicing salts to roads in protected areas is prohibited by law. there is little detailed knowledge of the effects of deicing salts on ecosystems in the Bavarian Forest nP. the first preliminary study was conducted in 2011 and the first results are published in this paper. nine permanent study sites were established and significant differences in soil chemical parameters among the different sites were recorded. the highest amounts of na + and cl − ions were recorded at study site #4, which is located only a few meters from the bank of the Grosse ohe river. Much higher concentrations of na + and cl − ions were found at 10 meters from the road than at the road edge and it is assumed that this is due to long-term contamination from water accumulating from melting snow. there were also higher concentrations of salt ions recorded at other sites along the main road. it is important that trajectories of the mobility of ions, including seasonal variability and commutations of salt in ecosystems, should be studied in future.

Salt no longer travels through the Bohemian Forest along the Golden Trail, but halophytic neophytes do

“…We have searched for P. coronopus in the Bohemian Forest region since 2012. We started with permanent study sites, which were established in the Bavarian Forest NP in 2011 (Křenová et al 2012). In addition to those sites, sixty-five transects (200 meters long and 60 cm wide) were established along the central segment of the Nationalparkstrasse (730-830 m a.s.l.)…”

“…In 2011, during the first year of the monitoring project, we recorded Plantago coronopus at three sites from nine we monitored along the Nationalparkstrasse in the Bavarian Forest NP (Křenová et al 2012). Two locations were close to the Grosse Ohe River (location S4: N48° 55.416ʹ E13°24.862ʹ, 765 m a.s.l.…”

“…Dataloggers recording water level, temperature and conductivity are used for monitoring the impact of deicing salt on water ecosystems in the Šumava NP since 2016 (Zýval et al 2018). There was little detailed information on the effects of these salts on ecosystems in the Bavarian Forest NP, since the first preliminary study was only carried out in 2011 and 2012 (Křenová et al 2012). This study, as well as repeated monitoring conducted in 2015 and 2018 showed that ecosystems along the main road running through the old part of the Bavarian Forest NP, the "Nationalparkstrasse" were significantly affected by deicing salts .…”

Increasing concentration of deicing salt in soils in the Bavarian Forest National Park

“…Two five-meters long transects were established at each site in August 2011 in order to identify the plants occurring there. The species occurrences and their salt-tolerance were repeatedly studied (Křenová et al 2012;Zýval et al 2015).…”

“…Deicing salt is regularly applied along the "Nationalparkstrasse" road, the main road in the eastern part of the Bavarian Forest NP, however nothing was known about the effects of this until 2011 when the first monitoring was started (Křenová et al 2012). A monitoring program was prepared (Křenová 2011) and a standard monitoring design implemented (Zýval et al 2015).…”