Abstract
Studies in Germany and confirmed in North America established that the forest decline that developed in the late 1970's and 80's resulted from a deficiency in one or more of the nutrient cations: Ca2+, Mg2+, and K+. These nutrients are essential to the structure of the foliage, to photosynthesis and to the growth of the trees. The reactions and mechanisms involved in the entry of nutrients to the soil, their storage, and rate of transfer to the soil solution, and through it, to the fine roots and to the leaves at the top of the tree are reviewed. The continuing material balance studies carried out on a watershed at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest in New Hampshire allow a unique analysis of the changes caused in these nutrient transfers by acid rain. The nutrient cations are stored in the soil by adsorption on negatively charged clay, and the presence of an acid is required for their release to the soil solution. In pre-industrial times this acid was H2CO3, which was subsequently displaced from the soil solution by H2SO4 and HNO3, as a result of acid deposition. The effect of the increased concentration of the negatively charged SO4 2− and NO3 − anions seeping through the soil, compared with that of the HCO3 − that had been previously present, resulted in a substantially increased rate of transfer of an equivalent of Ca2+ and other positively charged nutrient cations from the soil to the soil solution. The increased concentration of Ca2+ in the soil solution resulted in both an initial increase in the rate of biomass growth and in a simultaneous increase in the rate of Ca2+ loss in the effluent soil solution from the watershed. It was found that this increased rate of removal of Ca2+ from the watershed soil had become greater than its rate of input to the soil from weathering and from dust and rain. As a result, the large Ca2+ inventory that had built up in the soil as a result of the reduced leaching in the years prior to the entry of acid rain, that started in about the1880's, was eventually depleted in the hardwood forest at Hubbard Brook in the 1980's, about 100 years later. With insufficient Ca2+ available for its continuing transfer, net biomass growth on the watershed stopped. This resulted from the rate of tree mortality becoming equal to that of the small incremental growth of a few trees on the watershed. The future growth of forests is at risk from the long-term effects of acid deposition. The fundamental nature of the reactions involved indicates that similar growth anomalies are occurring in other forests impacted by acid rain. These changes from normal biomass growth can affect the amount of CO2 stored in the biomass, of importance to our understanding of Global Warming.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Baker D.J. et al. 1993. National Acid Precipitation Assessment Program 1992 Report to Congress.
Bell C.W. and Bidulph O.1963. Translocation of calcium. Exchange versus mass flow. Plant Physiol.38: 610–614.
Bernier B. and Brazeau M.1980. Foliar nutrient status in relation to sugar maple decline in the Quebec Appalachians. Can. J. Forest Res.18: 754–761.
Bondietti E.A., Momoshima N., Shortle W.C. and Smith K.T.1990. A historical perspective on divalent cation trends in red spruce stemwood and the hypothetical relationship to acidic deposition. Can. J. Forest Res.20: 1850–1858.
Coote D.R., Siminovitch D., Singh S.S. and Wang C.1981. Contribution 119, Land Resources Institute.Agriculture Canada PublishersOttawa, pp. 1–25.
Clarkson D.T.1969. Ecological aspects of aluminum toxicity and some possible mechanisms of resistance. In: Rorison I.H. (ed) Ecological Aspects of Mineral Nutrition of Plants.Blackwell Scientific Publishers, Boston, pp. 381–397.
Driscoll C.T., Lawerence C.B., Bulger A.J., Butler T.J., Cronan C.S., Eagar C., Lambert K.F., Likens G.E., Stoddard J.L. and Weathers K.C.2001. Acidic deposition in the northeastern United States: sources and inputs, ecosystems effects, and management strategies. Bioscience51: 180–198.
Enders H.-P. and Evers F.H.1997 In: Hüttl R.F. and Schaaf W. (eds) Magnesium Deficiency in Forest Ecosystems.Kluwer Academic Publishers, Boston, pp. 4–5.
Fan S., Gloor M., Mahlman J., Pacala S., Sarmiento J., Takahashi T. and Tans P.1998. A large terrestrial carbon sink in North America implied by atmospheric and oceanic carbon dioxide data and models. Science282: 442–446.
Fang J., Chen A., Changhui P., Shuqing Z. and Longjun C.2001. Change in forest biomass carbon storage in China between 1949 and 1998. Science292: 2320–2322.
Freidland A.J. and Miller E.K.1999. Major-element cycling in a high-elevation Adirondack forest: patterns and changes, 1986–1996. Eco. Appl.9 (3): 938–967.
Guttenberg A.V.1896. Die Aufstellung von Holzmassen-und Geldertragstafeln von Stammanalysen. österr. Vierteljahresschr. Forstwes. Wien36: 203–237; 319–345.
Hendershot W.H.1991. Fertilization of sugar maple showing dieback symptoms in the Quebec Appalachains, Canada. Fert. Res.27: 63–70.
Hornbeck J.W. and Smith R.B.1985. Documentation of red spruce growth decline. Can. J. Forest Res.15: 1199–1201.
Hutchinson T.C. and Whitby L.M.1977. The effects of heavy rainfall and heavy particulates on a boreal forest ecosystem near the Sudbury smelting region of Canada. Water Air Soil Poll.7: 421–438.
Houghton R.A., Hackler J.L. and Lawrence K.T.1999. The U.S. carbon budget: contributions from land-use change. Science285: 574–578.
Hüttl R.F.1985. In: Neuartige Waldschäden und Nährelementversorgung von Fichtenbeständen (Picea abies. Karst.) in Südwestendeutschland.Thesis, Freiburger Bodenkundliche Abhandlungen, Vol. 16. Freiburg, Germany(See also Tomlinson and Tomlinson 1990.CRC Press Publishers, Boca Raton, FL, USA, pp. 34–39; 139–165)
Jenny H.1980. The Soil Resource. Springer-Verlag Publishers, New York, p. 87.
Johnson A.H.1987. Deterioration of red spruce in the northern Appalachian Mountains. In: Hutchinson T.C. and Meema K. (eds) Effects of Atmospheric Pollution on Forests, Wetlands and Agricultural Ecosystems.Springer Verlag Publishers, New York, p. 85.
Johnson N.M., Driscol C.T., Eaton J.S., Likens G.E. and McDowell W.H.1981. Acid rain, dissolved aluminum and chemical weathering at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, New Hampshire. Geochim. Cosmochim. Ac.45 (9): 1421–1437.
Jorns A. and Hecht-Buchholz C.1985. Aluminiuminduzierter magnesium-und-calcium mangel in laborversuch bei Fichtensämlingen. Allg. Forstz.40 (46): 1248–1252.
Kirby E.A. and Pilbeam R.J.1984. Calcium as a plant cell nutrient. Plant Cell Environ.7: 7–405.
Ledin S. and Wiklander L.1974. Exchange acidity of wheat and pea roots in salt solution. Plant Soil41: 403–413.
Likens G.E. and Bormann F.H.1995. Biogeochemistry of a Forested Ecosystem, 2nd ed.Springer-Verlag, New York.
Likens G.E., Driscol C.T. and Buso D.C.1996. Long term effects of acid rain: response and recovery of a forest ecosystem. Science272: 244–2246.
Likens G.E., Driscol C.T., Buso D.C., Siccama T.G., Johnson C.E., Lovett G.M., Fahey T.J., Reiners W.A., Ryan D.F., Martin C.W. and Bailey S.W.1998. The biogeochemistry of calcium at Hubbard Brook. Biogeochemistry41: 89–173.
Lovett G.M., Reiners W.A. and Olson R.K.1982. Cloud droplet deposition in subalpine balsam fir forests: hydrological and chemical inputs. Science218: 303–1304.
Miller E.K. and Friedland A.J.1999. Local climate influences on precipitation, cloud water, and dry deposition to an Adirondack subalpine forest: Insights from observations 1986–1996. J. Environ. Qual.28 (1): 270–277
Ouimet R. and Fortin J.M.1991. Growth and foliar nutrient status of sugar maple: incidence of forest decline and reaction to fertilization. Can. J. Forest Res.22: 699–706.
Pacala S.W. et al 2001. Consistent land-and atmosphere-based carbon sink estimates. Science292: 2316–2320.
Painter T.J. and Purves C.B.1960. Polysaccharides in the inner bark of white spruce. TAPPI43: 729–736.
Russell R.S.1977. Plant Root Systems: Their Function and Interaction in the Soil. Mcgraw-Hill Publishers, London.
Sharpe W.E. and Drohan J.R.1999. The Effects of Acidic Deposition on Pennsylvania's Forests. Environmental Resources Research Institute Publishers, University Park, PA 16802, USA.
Shear C.B. and Faust M.1970. Calcium transport in apple trees. Plant Physiol.45: 670–674.
Simson B.W. and Timell T.E.1978. Polysaccharides in cambial tissue of Populus tremuloides and Tilia americana. 1. Isolation, fractionation and chemical composition of the cambial tissue. Cell. Chem. Technol.12: 39–50.
Sparks D.L.1986. Soil Physical Chemistry. CRC Press Publisher, Boca Raton, FL, USA, pp. 56–63.
Spiecker H.1996. Growth Trends in European Forests. European Forest Institute Research Report No. 5.Springer-Verlag Publishers, Berlin.
Sterba H.1996. Forest decline and growth trends in Central Europe–a review. In: Spiecker et al. (eds) Growth Trends in European Forests.European Forest Institute Research Report No 5.Springer-Verlag Publishers, Berlin, pp. 189–199.
Timell T.E.1965. Wood and bark polysaccharides. In: Coté W.A. (ed) Cellular Ultrastructure of Woody Plants.Syracuse University Press Publishers, Syracuse, NY, pp. 127–156.
Tomlinson G.H.1987. Acid deposition, nutrient imbalance and tree decline: a commentary. In: Hutchinson T.C. and Meema K.M. (eds) Effects of Atmospheric Pollution on Forests, Wetlands and Agricultural Ecosystems.Springer-Verlag Publishers, New York, pp. 189–199.
Tomlinson G.H.1990 In: Tomlinson G.H. and Tomlinson F.L. (eds) Effects of Acid Deposition on the Forests of Europe and North America.CRC Press Publishers, Boca Raton, FL USA, p. 33 and pp. 133–135.
Tyler G., Berggren D., Bergkvist B., Falkengren-Grerup U., Folkeson L. and Ruhling å.1987 In: Hutchinson T.C. and Meema K.M. (eds) Effects of Atmospheric Pollution on Forests, Wetlands and Agricultural Ecosystems.Springer-Verlag Publishers, New York, pp. 347–359.
Ulrich B.1986. Natural and anthropogenic components of soil acidification. Z. Pflanz. Bodenkunde149: 702–717.
Ulrich B. and Matzner E.1986. Anthropogenic and natural acidification in terrestrial ecosystems. Experentia42: 344–350.
Vogelmann H.W., Perkins T.D., Badger G.J. and Klein R.W.1988. A 21 year record of forest decline on Camel's Hump. Vermont, USA. Eur. J. Forest Pathol.18: 240–249.
Wofsy S.C.2001. Where has all the carbon gone?Science292: 2261–2263.
Wood T., Bormann F.H. and Voight G.K.1984. Phosphorus cycling in a northern hardwood forest: biological and chemical control. Science227: 391–393.
Zöttl H.W. and Hüttl R.F.1986. Nutrient supply and forest decline in southwest Germany. Water Air Soil Poll.31: 255–256.
Zöttl H.W., Hüttl R.F., Fink S., Tomlinson G.H. and Wisniewski J.1989. Nutritional disturbances and histological changes in declining forests. Water Air Soil Poll.48: 87–109.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Tomlinson, G.H. Acidic deposition, nutrient leaching and forest growth. Biogeochemistry 65, 51–81 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1026069927380
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1026069927380