Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Soil Acidification on Dry Heaths in Jutland, Denmark—Trends in pH Over a Century

  • Published:
Water, Air, & Soil Pollution Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Anthropogenic airborne pollution has lowered soil pH for decades, while partial chemical recovery has been documented in recent years in northwest Europe; however, it remains uncertain how naturally acidic ecosystems, such as dry heaths, have responded. Here, we attempt to elucidate scale changes over decades in surface soil pH in dry heath ecosystems by encompassing 1336 historic measurements from 120 sites covering a time span from 1920 to 2015, an unmatched timespan. The data set had soil pH (1:1 soil–water) ranging from 3.06 to 6.38 with a mean of 3.86 ± 0.01. When analyzing the data in a change point model, initially a minor non-significant drop in pH (0.99) was seen before the change point followed by a weak non-significant positive trend. This may indicate that either there was a drop from the 1920s to 1942, after which soil pH probably increased, or that there has been no change in the entire period. We propose that the change is related to either (1) that the sulphur deposition peaked in the early 1980s and, as result, sulphur deposition decreased, which caused a small recovery of soil pH, or (2) that anthropogenic acidification did not significantly change soil pH in this naturally very acidic ecosystem.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

reproduced from Pedersen et al. (2011). Here, sampling sites are shown as blue dots (n = 1336). Permission granted from the author

Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

Data Availability

Data can be obtained from the first author.

References

  • Aas, W., Mortier, A., Bowersox, V., Cherian, R., Faluvegi, G., Fagerli, H., et al. (2019). Global and regional trends of atmospheric sulfur. Scientific Reports, 9(1), 953. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-37304-0.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Aciego Pietri, J. C., & Brookes, P. C. (2008). Nitrogen mineralisation along a pH gradient of a silty loam UK soil. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 40(3), 797–802. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2007.10.014

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bähring, A., Fichtner, A., Ibe, K., Schütze, G., Temperton, V. M., von Oheimb, G., & Härdtle, W. (2017). Ecosystem functions as indicators for heathland responses to nitrogen fertilisation. Ecological Indicators, 72, 185–193. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2016.08.013

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bak, J. (2013). Tålegrænser for dansk natur. DCE - Nationalt Center for Miljø og Energi. Aarhus: Aarhus Universitet, DCE – Nationalt Center for Miljø og Energi, 94 s. - Videnskabelig rapport fra DCE - Nationalt Center for Miljø og Energi nr. 69 http://dce2.au.dk/pub/SR69.pdf. http://dce2.au.dk/pub/SR69.pdf

  • Blake, L. (2004). Acid rain and soil acidification. Encyclopedia of Soils in the Environment, 4(2), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/B0-12-348530-4/00083-7

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blake, L., Goulding, K. W. T., Mott, C. J. B., & Johnston, A. E. (1999). Changes in soil chemistry accompanying acidification over more than 100 years under woodland and grass at Rothamsted Experimental Station, UK. European Journal of Soil Science, 50(3), 401–412. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2389.1999.00253.x

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Blume, H. P., Brümmer, G. W., Fleige, H., Horn, R., Kandeler, E., Kögel-Knabner, I., et al. (2016). Soil science. Scheffer/Schachtschabel Soil Science (16th ed.). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-30942-7

  • Böcher, W. T. (1941). Vegetationen paa Randbøl hede. København: Ejnar Munksgaard.

  • Breuning-Madsen, H., & Jensen, N. H. (1985). Jordprofilundersøgelsen. Rapport over pedologiske studier udført i forbindelse med anlæg af hovedtransmissionsledninger for naturgas i Danmark. København

  • Breuning-Madsen, H., Greve, M., & Nørr, A. (2001). Danish soil classification and establishment of the Danish soil database. Soil Survey Horizons, 42(1), 25–34.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carlin, C. B., & Louis, T. A. (1996). Bayes and empirical Bayes methods for data analysis (1st ed.). Chapman & Hall. https://doi.org/10.2307/2533126

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Cappelen, J. (2018). DMI Report 18-02 Denmark - DMI Historical Climate Data Collection Colophon, 1–111

  • Christensen, B. T., & Johnston, A. E. (1997). Soil organic matter and soil quality - leassons learned from long-term experiments at Askov and Rothamsted. In Soil Quality for Crop Production and Ecosystem Health (p. 447)

  • Damgaard, C., Strandberg, M., Kristiansen, S. M., Nielsen, K. E., & Bak, J. L. (2014). Is Erica tetralix abundance on wet heathlands controlled by nitrogen deposition or soil acidification? Environmental Pollution, 184, 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2013.07.047

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Danish Agricultural Advisory Service. (1990). Kvadratnet for nitratundersogelser i Danmark. Manuscript in Danish

  • Danmarks Arealinformation. (2020). https://arealinformation.miljoeportal.dk/html5/index.html?viewer=distribution. Accessed 22 April 2020

  • De Graaf, M. C. C., Bobbink, R., Smits, N. A. C., Van Diggelen, R., & Roelofs, J. G. M. (2009). Biodiversity, vegetation gradients and key biogeochemical processes in the heathland landscape. Biological Conservation, 142(10), 2191–2201. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2009.04.020

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Degn, H. J. (2016). Management of heaths and inland dunes in Denmark – a manual of methods. (J. Stenild, S. Rasmussen, & J. Højland, Eds.). Ministry of Environment and Food of Denmark Nature Agency

  • Degn, H. J. (2019). Heden. Aarhus Universitetsforlag.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dise, N. B., Ashmore, M., Belyazid, S., Bleeker, A., Bobbink, R., Vries, W. De, Erisman, J. W., Spranger, T., Stevens, C. J., & Berg, L. Van Den. (2011). biodiversity. In M. A. Sutton, C. M. Howard, J. W. Erisman, G. Billen, & A. Bleeker (Eds.), The European Nitrogen Assessment: Sources, Effects and Policy Perspectives (pp. 463–494). Cambridge University Press

  • Engardt, M., Simpson, D., Schwikowski, M., & Granat, L. (2017). Deposition of sulphur and nitrogen in Europe 1900–2050. Model calculations and comparison to historical observations. Tellus, Series B: Chemical and Physical Meteorology, 69(1), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1080/16000889.2017.1328945

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fagúndez, J. (2013). Heathlands confronting global change: Drivers of biodiversity loss from past to future scenarios. Annals of Botany, 111(2), 151-172. Oxford University Press https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcs257

  • Geus webshop. (2020). https://frisbee.geus.dk/geuswebshop/. Accessed 27 April 2020

  • Google Maps. (2020). https://www.google.it/maps/@55.6957696,12.5698048,12z. Accessed 22 April 2020

  • Grennfelt, P., Engleryd, A., Forsius, M., Hov, Ø., Rodhe, H., & Cowling, E. (2020). Acid rain and air pollution: 50 years of progress in environmental science and policy. Ambio, 49(4), 849–864. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-019-01244-4

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hansen, B., & Nielsen, K. E. (1998). Comparison of acidic deposition to semi-natural ecosystems in Denmark - coastal heath, inland heath and oak wood. Atmospheric Environment, 32(6), 1075–1086. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1352-2310(97)00375-0

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hansen, B., Nørnberg, P., & Ladekarl, U. L. (1999). Acidification of the sandy percolation zones under heathland and oak wood in Denmark. In Forest Ecology and Management (Vol. 114, pp. 137–150). Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0378-1127(98)00388-0

  • Hansen, Thorling, & L., Dalgaard, T., & Erlandsen, M. (2011). Trend reversal of nitrate in Danish groundwater - A reflection of agricultural practices and nitrogen surpluses since 1950. Environmental Science and Technology, 45(1), 228–234. https://doi.org/10.1021/es102334u.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hansen, K. (1976). Ecological studies in Danish heath vegetation. København: Dansk Botanisk Arkiv.

  • Helliwell, R. C., Britton, A. J., Gibbs, S., Fisher, J. M., & Potts, J. M. (2010). Interactive effects of N deposition, land management and weather patterns on soil solution chemistry in a Scottish alpine heath. Ecosystems, 13(5), 696–711. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-010-9348-z

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kleijn, D., Bekker, R. M., Bobbink, R., De Graaf, M. C. C., & Roelofs, J. G. M. (2008). In search for key biogeochemical factors affecting plant species persistence in heathland and acidic grasslands: A comparison of common and rare species. Journal of Applied Ecology, 45(2), 680–687. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2664.2007.01444.x

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Madsen, H. B. (1991). Mineralogisk undersøgelse af fire profiler på Hjelm Hede

  • Miles, J. (1985). The pedogenic effects of different species and vegetation types and the implications of succession. Journal of Soil Science, 36(4), 571–584. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2389.1985.tb00359.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mossin, L., Mortensen, M., & Nornberg, P. (2002). Imogolite related to podzolization processes in Danish podzols. Geoderma, 109(1–2), 103–116. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0016-7061(02)00145-3.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Müller, P. E. (1924). De Jydske Hedesletters Naturhistorie. København.

  • Natura 2000: Birds and habitats directives — European Environment Agency. (2020). https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/figures/natura-2000-birds-and-habitat-directives-11. Accessed 22 December 2020

  • Nielsen, K. E., Irizar, A., Nielsen, L. P., Kristiansen, S. M., Damgaard, C., Holmstrup, M., et al. (2017). In situ measurements reveal extremely low pH in soil. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 115, 63–65. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2017.08.003

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nielsen, K. E., Hansen, B., Ladekarl, U. L., & Nørnberg, P. (2000). Effects of N-deposition on ion trapping by B-horizons of Danish heathlands. Plant and Soil, 223(1–2), 265–276. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1004853802637.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nielsen, K. E., Ladekarl, U. L., & Nørnberg, P. (1999). Dynamic soil processes on heathland due to changes in vegetation to oak and Sitka spruce. Forest Ecology and Management, 114(1), 107–116. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0378-1127(98)00385-5

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nørnberg, P. (1995). The Heath Project. Ecological processes in Danish heathlands and their relationship to the atmospheric environment). Aarhus Geoscience, 4, 83–91.

    Google Scholar 

  • Odgaard, B. (1992a). The fire history of Danish heathland areas as reflected by pollen and charred particles in lake sediments. The Holocene, 2(3), 218–226. https://doi.org/10.1177/095968369200200303

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Odgaard, B. (1994). The Holocene vegetation history of northern West Jytland, Denmark. Opera Bot.

    Google Scholar 

  • Odgaard, B. (1992). The fire history of Danish heathland areas as reflected by pollen and charred particles in lake sediments. The Holocene, 2(3), 218–226. https://doi.org/10.1177/095968369200200303

  • Olmeda, C., Šefferová, V., Underwood, E., Millan, L., Gil, T., & Naumann, S. (2019). EU Action plan to maintain and restore to favourable conservation status the habitat type 4030 European dry heaths. European Commission, 1–116.

  • Page, E. S. (1954). Continuous inspection schemes. Biometrika, 41(1/2), 100. https://doi.org/10.2307/2333009

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pedersen, S. A. S., Hermansen, B., Nathan, C., & Toug. (2011). Digitalt kort over Danmarks jordarter 1:200.000, version 2. GEUS rapport 2011 / 19, 1–9.

  • Petersen, A. R. (2014). Causes for the destabilization of Erica Tetralix cover in wetland and heath areas. Aarhus. 1–217.

  • Petersen, L. (1976). Podzols and podzolization. DRS Forlag.

    Google Scholar 

  • Petersen, T. H. (1972). Julianhede. Jordbundsudviklingen på en bakkeø. Specielt med henblik på podsolering, herunder især indhold af frie jernoxider

  • Remke, E., Brouwer, E., Kooijman, A., Blindow, I., & Roelofs, J. G. M. (2009). Low atmospheric nitrogen loads lead to grass encroachment in Coastal Dunes, but only on acid soils. Ecosystems, 12(7), 1173–1188. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-009-9282-0

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Reuter, H. I., Lado, L. R., Hengl, T., & Montanarella, L. (2008). Continental-scale digital soil mapping using European soil profile data: Soil pH. Contributions to Physical Geography and Landscape Ecology - Hamburg, (June 2016), 91–102.

  • Reynolds, B., Chamberlain, P. M., Poskitt, J., Woods, C., Scott, W. A., Rowe, E. C., et al. (2013). Countryside survey: National “soil change” 1978–2007 for topsoils in Great Britain-acidity, carbon, and total nitrogen status. Vadose Zone Journal, 12(2), vzj2012.0114. https://doi.org/10.2136/vzj2012.0114

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Riesch, F., Stroh, H. G., Tonn, B., & Isselstein, J. (2018). Soil pH and phosphorus drive species composition and richness in semi-natural heathlands and grasslands unaffected by twentieth-century agricultural intensification. Plant Ecology and Diversity, 11(2), 239–253. https://doi.org/10.1080/17550874.2018.1471627

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sauvé, S., Hendershot, W., & Allen, H. E. (2000). Solid-solution partitioning of metals in contaminated soils: Dependence on pH, total metal burden, and organic matter. Environmental Science and Technology, 34(7), 1125–1131. https://doi.org/10.1021/es9907764

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Schmidt, K. I. (2015). Næringsstoffer på heden- Kan hedeplejen håndtere det? Flora og Fauna, 3+4(119), 109–119. http://jydsknaturhistorisk.dk/?page_id=1955

  • Sloth, L. (1990). En undersøgelse af vegetations- og sæsonvariationens indflydelse på jordbundsudviklingen

  • Smith, S. J., Van Aardenne, J., Klimont, Z., Andres, R. J., Volke, A., & Delgado Arias, S. (2011). Anthropogenic sulfur dioxide emissions: 1850–2005. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 11(3), 1101–1116. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-11-1101-2011

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Southon, G. E., Field, C., Caporn, S. J. M., Britton, A. J., & Power, S. A. (2013). Nitrogen deposition reduces plant diversity and alters ecosystem functioning: Field-scale evidence from a nationwide survey of UK heathlands. PLoS ONE, 8(4), 59031. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0059031

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sørensen, F. B. (1988). En undersøgelse af podzoljorde under lyng, gran, asp og græs på Hjerl hede. Aarhus.

  • Steudel, R. (1995). Sulfuric acid from sulfur trioxide and water—a surprisingly complex reaction. Angewandte Chemie International Edition in English, 34(12), 1313–1315. https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.199513131

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sundberg, P. S., Callesen, I., Greve, M. H., & Raulund-Rasmussen, K. (1999). Danske Jordbundsprofiler. Danmarks JordbrugsForskning

  • Van Breemen, N., & Wright, R. F. (2004). History and prospect of catchment biogeochemistry: A European perspective based on acid rain. Ecology, 85(9), 2363–2368. https://doi.org/10.1890/03-0389

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Den Berg, L. J. L., Dorland, E., Vergeer, P., Hart, M. A. C., Bobbink, R., & Roelofs, J. G. M. (2005). Decline of acid-sensitive plant species in heathland can be attributed to ammonium toxicity in combination with low pH. New Phytologist, 166(2), 551–564. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-8137.2005.01338.x

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Vejr fra DMI. (2020). https://www.dmi.dk/. Accessed 26 April 2020

  • Wamelink, W., van Adrichem, M., van Dobben, H., Frissel, J., den Held, M., Joosten, V., et al. (2012). Vegetation relevés and soil measurements in the Netherlands: The Ecological Conditions Database (EC). Biodiversity & Ecology, 4(February 2020), 125–132. https://doi.org/10.7809/b-e.00067

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Watanabe, S. (2010). Asymptotic equivalence of Bayes cross validation and widely applicable information criterion in singular learning theory. Journal of Machine Learning Research, 11, 3571–3594.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weis, F. (1929). Fysiske og Kemiske Undersøgelser over Danske Hedejorde. København: Bianco Lunos Bogtrykkeri.

  • Weis, F. (1932). Fortsatte Fysiske og Kemiske Undersøgelser over Danske Hedejorde og andre Podsolsdannelser. København: Bianco Lunos Bogtrykkeri.

  • Wolfram Research, I. (2019). Mathematica. Champaign, Illinois: Wolfram Research, Inc.

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank Peter Borgen Sørensen and Søren Erik Larsen, who contributed with inputs regarding the statistical analysis and gave constructive comments on the subject. Charlotte Elisabeth Kler is thanked for her invaluable help with the grammar and text in the article. We are grateful to Morten Strandberg for his initial comments on early drafts of this article. We are grateful to the Aage V. Jensen Charity Foundation who gave financial support to this article as a part of the first author’s Ph.D. thesis.

Funding

Aage V. Jensen Charity foundation funded this research.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Bioscience, Section of Plant and Insect Ecology, Aarhus University, Vejlsøvej 25, 8600, Silkeborg, Denmark

    Mathias Emil Kaae, Knud Erik Nielsen, Jesper Leth Bak & Christian Frølund Damgaard

  2. Hannemanns Allé 53, 2300, Copenhagen S, Denmark

    Asger Ryge Petersen

  3. Department of Geoscience, Aarhus University, Høegh-Guldbergs Gade 2, 8000, Aarhus C, Denmark

    Asger Ryge Petersen & Søren Munch Kristiansen

Authors
  1. Mathias Emil Kaae
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Asger Ryge Petersen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Søren Munch Kristiansen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Knud Erik Nielsen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Jesper Leth Bak
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Christian Frølund Damgaard
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

Data collection was mainly done by Asger Ryge Petersen and Mathias Emil Kaae. Data preparation was done by Mathias Emil Kaae. The draft of the manuscript was, with exception of two sections in the “Method”, i.e. the “Hierarchical Model” section and “Estimation of pH” section, written by Mathias Emil Kaae. Data analysis was done by Christian Frølund Damgaard, Mathias Emil Kaae and Jesper Leth Bak. All authors commented on the final manuscript. The final manuscript was approved by all authors and all authors made substantial contributions to the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Christian Frølund Damgaard.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare no competing interests.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Supplementary Information

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary file1 (DOCX 4310 KB)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Kaae, M.E., Petersen, A.R., Kristiansen, S.M. et al. Soil Acidification on Dry Heaths in Jutland, Denmark—Trends in pH Over a Century. Water Air Soil Pollut 233, 31 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-021-05489-2

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-021-05489-2

Keywords

Search

Navigation