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Simulation of the buffering process of karst soil on sulfuric acid rain and the characteristic of δ13CDIC and the carbon sink flux in Guilin City, southwest China

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Abstract

To clarify the buffering process and karst carbon sink effect of the karst soil with acid rain, experiments on the leaching of sulfuric acid rain were conducted at pH 3.5, 4.5, and 6.5 with different karst soil thicknesses. The buffering process of karst soil on acid rain occurred in the topsoil. During strong acid precipitation, the soil-exchangeable calcium and magnesium were predominantly exchanged with H+ in acid rain, while during weak acid precipitation, the amount of calcium and magnesium exchanged with H+ in acid rain was lower than the H+ generated via dissociation of soil CO2 dissolved in the precipitation. At pH 3.5, 4.5, and 6.5 precipitations, the δ13CDIC value in the leached liquid ranges from − 18.9 to − 14.2‰, − 19.0 to − 13.2‰, and − 12.0 to − 7.1‰, respectively, and with increasing precipitation intensity, the δ13CDIC value was increased, relatively stable, and decreased, respectively. A total of 74% of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) in the leached liquid was from soil CO2. In the karst soil area (soil thickness ≥ 10 cm), soil-exchangeable calcium and magnesium can buffer 33,303–336,987 mm in pH 3.5 precipitation and 145,701–371,550 mm in pH 4.5 precipitation, while the soil buffer in pH 3.5 precipitation can generate 0.22–1.04 mol m−2 carbon sink per year, and 0.39–0.64 mol m−2 carbon sink per year in pH 4.5 precipitation.

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Availability of data and materials

The data that support the findings of this study are available from Institute of Karst Geology, CAGS. Restrictions apply to the availability of these data, which were used under license for this study. Data are available from the authors with the permission of Institute of Karst Geology, CAGS.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Prof. Huang Qibo for his valuable comments and suggestions.

Funding

This work was supported by the Key Projects of the Guangxi Natural Science Foundation and the China Geological Survey Project (Grant Numbers 2018GXNSFDA281036 and DD20221758). Author Yiling Xu has received research support from Guilin Water Supply Company Limited.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Guilin University of Technology, Guilin, 541004, China

    Guangshuai Zhao & Yinian Zhu

  2. Institute of Karst Geology, CAGS/Key Laboratory of Karst Dynamics, MNR & GZAR, Qixing Road 50, Guilin, 541004, China

    Guangshuai Zhao, Qibo Huang & Zhenggong Pu

  3. International Research Centre on Karst Under the Auspices of UNESCO/National Center for International Research On Karst Dynamic System and Global Change, Guilin, 541004, China

    Guangshuai Zhao, Qibo Huang & Zhenggong Pu

  4. Guilin Water Supply Company Limited, Guilin, 541004, China

    Yiling Xu

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  1. Guangshuai Zhao
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation was performed by YX and ZP. Data collection and analysis were performed by GZ. The first draft of the manuscript was written by GZ. QH and YZ commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Qibo Huang.

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Zhao, G., Huang, Q., Zhu, Y. et al. Simulation of the buffering process of karst soil on sulfuric acid rain and the characteristic of δ13CDIC and the carbon sink flux in Guilin City, southwest China. Environ Earth Sci 82, 296 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-023-10948-6

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