In the winter, grass often dies near roads that have been salted to remove ice? What causes this?

Question

isn't it some chemical reaction? ice= water, water dissolves NaCl, but why is it that the grass dies?

Answer 1

Most plants cannot stand much salt; that's why the beach is not full of plants, and why salt flats out in the desert are not oases. The only plants that do well in salty environments are those that were selected by Mother Nature for it; those dune grasses and similar materials you see on the sand dunes near the ocean. They are very fibrous and usually downright hard, if you've ever walked on them.

Answer 2

Salt is a poison to the plant. All life is mostly water, but this water also has a certain percentage of salt. If there is too much salt, the cells will shrivel up and die. Since there is too much salt in the ground, the grass wilts and dies.

Answer 3

the salt soaks into the ground and absorbs the water before the grass/plants can. therefore the plants dont get enough water to survive.

Answer 4

Salt is very bad for land plants, as it increases the osmotic potential of the soil. Basically, it pulls water out of the plant.

Answer 5

there are two basic principals involved here, firstly salt can be deposited as crystals on the plant and therefore magnify sunlight and burn the plants foliage thus fusing the stomata and not allowing the plant to transpirate .. secondly salt can encrust the rootlets of the plant and prevent uptake of water

Answer 6

Exosmosis. The water in the cell is less concentrated than the outside, so it flows out to equalise the concentration.

Answer 7

the salt and chemicals in it make it so the soil there is unlivable.