Road Salt and Urban Forestry
LOCATION: Webinar
Time: TBA
Pricing: $10 for MNLA member firms, $15 for non-member firms
Sodium Chloride, the most predominant salt used on streets for melting snow and ice, is the lubricant of the modern lifestyle in northern climates during wintry weather conditions. These same streets and parking lots are also the battleground where urban foresters strive to build green infrastructure for canopy coverage, stormwater management and aesthetics. It is all too common to observe the damages and casualties on roadsides in spring, when plants start to display the impacts of salt through discoloration and canopy loss. At this stage, it is often too late to remedy and correct the damaged plants.
The urban forestry community is aware of the issue. Many of these professionals have snow removal as part of their responsibility, requiring salts as part of standard operating procedures. We will use case studies in Baltimore, MD and controlled environment studies in Richmond, VA to demonstrate a unique protocol of protecting plants from salt damages.
Dr. Wei Zhang is a polymer scientist, engineer, and entrepreneur with focuses on specialty coatings and green technologies.