Renshaw, Andrea J.2021-12-202021-12-202021-12-20http://hdl.handle.net/10919/107131Roadway deicing salt is a major pollutant of Virginia roads, damaging environmental systems, water quality, and human health. Phytoremediation of salt-affected roadside soils using salt accumulating or excreting halophytes is an inexpensive and sustainable approach to mitigating roadway pollution. An obstacle of this approach is that the highest concentrations of saline runoff occur in winter and early spring when plants are dormant. A possible solution to this challenge is adding soil amendments to increase the cation exchange capacity of soil. This would be predicted to hold Na+ and Cl– ions within the rhizosphere until spring when actively growing halophytes would absorb salt ions. Later, halophyte biomass could be harvested to effectively remove salt from a site. This review identifies candidate halophytes suitable for roadside soil desalination in Virginia. I consider potential microbial and fungal aids to support halophyte growth amidst salt stress and potentially increase salt uptake. I also review environmentally friendly soil amendments capable of binding salt for later absorption by halophytes before leached ions become pollutants.application/pdfenAttribution-ShareAlike 4.0 InternationalMaster's projecthalophytessalt accumulationaccumulatorshyperaccumulationphytoremediationphytodesalinationphytoextractionremediationhalophilessalt runoffsalt pollution