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ACID RAIN & SOIL DEGRADATION
source: darwin.bio.uci.edu/~sustain/
bio65/lec14/b65lec14.htm
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Acid rain can contribute to: - removal of soil nutrients: acid rain dissolves essential nutrients out of the soil, including calcium and potassium, thus reducing their availability to plants. It also kills micro organisms, preventing decomposition from returning nutrients to the soil;
- dissolving toxic metals, such as aluminium and mercury, which are otherwise insoluble and harmless. This allows plants and micro organisms to absorb them and makes them susceptible to infection by bacteria and fungi and to attack by insects.
- Moreover, once mercury is dissolved by acid, it is converted into methyl mercury, which is highly toxic to wildlife.
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