Contributions of acid deposition and natural processes to cation leaching from forest soils: a review
Methods of quantifying the roles of atmospheric acid inputs and internal acid generation by carbonic, organic, and nitric acids are illustrated by reviewing data sets from several intensively studied sites in North America. Some of the sites (tropical, Costa Rica (La Selva); temperate deciduous, Tennessee (Walker Branch); and temperate coniferous, Washington (Thompson)) received acid precipitation whereas others (northern, southeast Alaska (Petersburg); and subalpine, Washington Cascades (Findley Lake)) did not. Natural leaching by carbonic acid dominated soil leaching in the tropical and temperate coniferous sites, nitric acid (caused by nitrification) dominated leaching in an N-fixing temperate deciduous site (red alder in Washington), and organic acids dominated surface soil leaching in the subalpine site and contributed to leaching of surface soils in several other sites. Only at the temperate deciduous sites in eastern Tennessee did atmospheric acid input play a major role in soil leaching. In no case, however, are the annual net losses of cations regarded as alarming as compared to soil exchangeable cation capital.
- Research Organization:
- Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (USA); Washington Univ., Seattle (USA). Coll. of Forest Resources
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-26
- OSTI ID:
- 6088686
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-830617-11; ON: DE83014027
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
Atmospheric-- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport-- (-1989)
510200 -- Environment
Terrestrial-- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport-- (-1989)
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
ACID RAIN
ACIDIFICATION
ATMOSPHERIC PRECIPITATIONS
CARBON COMPOUNDS
CARBONIC ACID
CATIONS
CHARGED PARTICLES
DISSOLUTION
DOCUMENT TYPES
ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS
FORESTS
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
INORGANIC ACIDS
IONS
LEACHING
NITRIC ACID
ORGANIC ACIDS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
RAIN
REVIEWS
SEPARATION PROCESSES
SOILS