Determination of Soil Organic Carbon and Soil Chloride Concentrations

The objective of this research project is to assess if the use of chloride-based snow and ice control products have an impact on potential carbon sequestration rates in the near road environment.

Current research by the Center for Environmentally Sustainable Transportation in Cold Climates (CESTiCC) is investigating the use of experimentally manipulated road-side soils and vegetation for enhanced carbon sequestration in the highway right-of-way. Deicing salts can impact roadside vegetation and soils, and salts have been shown to have mixed results on carbon storage in soils. The objective of this research project is to assess if the use of chloride-based snow and ice control products have an impact on potential carbon sequestration rates in the near road environment, and if so, the potential magnitude of this influence. If road deicers reduce carbon sequestration rates, some highway right-of-ways may be unsuitable for carbon sequestration purposes. This research will be accomplished by sampling roadside soils and testing for total organic carbon and chlorides and comparing this data to measured carbon flux.