RESUMO
Recretohalophytes employ specialized glands to excrete salt ions onto their tissue surfaces, which then have the potential to be transported away from the plant via wind in a process referred to as 'haloconduction'. Spartina pectinata and Distichlis spicata were selected to investigate the potential to remediate a cement kiln dust landfill in Bath, ON via salt excretion and haloconduction. Under ideal conditions in the laboratory, measurements of salt excreted by large (>15 shoots andâ¯>â¯50â¯cm height) plants of each species were 280⯱â¯164â¯g/m2 and 164⯱â¯75â¯g/m2, respectively, resulting in potential remediation timeframes of 1.4⯱â¯0.9 and 2.4⯱â¯1.1â¯years. Three salt collection methods were developed and installed in the field to test their efficacy for capturing and measuring windborne salt mobilized from plant surfaces. All three methods (two ground-level and one at 260â¯cm height) were successful in capturing and quantifying airborne salts up to 15â¯m from the plots. This study is the first to collect and quantify dispersed salt from recretohalophytes and hence confirm the theory of haloconduction, a promising new remediation technology for salt-impacted soils.