The effect of simulated acid rain on feather mosses and lichens of the boreal forest

Abstract

Permanent field plots containing a dominant ground cover of feather moss (Pleurozium schreberi) and the forage lichen, (Cladina), were established in mature, boreal forest jack pine stands to monitor the effects of simulated acid precipitation. For a five-year period commencing in 1981, bimonthly sprays (pH range 2.5 to 5.6) were given throughout the growing season. The feather moss wefts were extremely sensitive to simulated rains of pH 2.5 and 3.0; but loss of cover and frond blackening were also observed at pH 3.5. The pH 2.5 treatment killed almost all of thePleurozium, while the cover remaining in the pH 3.0 treatment after 5 years was reduced by 44%. In laboratory studies designed to compare the effects of H₂S0₄, HN03 and a 2:1 mixture of both, microcosms sprayed with H₂S0₄ alone (pH 3.0) were more significantly affected than fronds treated with HN0₃ alone or pH 5.6 sprays of any ratio. Although less sensitive thanPleurozium, field-sprayed lichens were also visibly damaged. At pHs less than 3.5,C. stellaris andC. rangiferina had reduced podetial height and dry weight; whileC. mitis was affected by a combination of the acid rain treatment and other associated factors. While ambient rains of pH 4.2 may not in themselves be harmful to the boreal ground flora, it is apparent that the feather mosses and lichens, lacking a cuticle and true roots, are very sensitive to occasional, extremely acidic rain events.