Causes of soil acidification

Major affects of soil acidification

The optimum soil pH for plant production is one that is slightly acidic, at this pH soil microorganisms are most active and plant nutrients are readily available. At extremes of high (alkaline) and low (acid) pH this delicate balance is disturbed and plant nutrients that were in adequate supply can become either deficient or toxic to plant growth. Some essential nutrients such as phosphorous, c...

Soil Acidification and Liming Interactions with Nutrient

Acidification of forest soil in Russia: From 1893 to present

[1] It is commonly believed that fine-textured soils developed on carbonate parent material are well buffered from possible acidification. There are no data, however, that document resistance of such soils to acidic deposition exposure on a timescale longer than 30–40 years. In this paper, we report on directly testing the long-term buffering capacity of nineteenth century forest soils develope...

The Role of Organic Matter in Soil Acidification

The pH and buffer capacity of two soils increased or remained constant after incubation with different amounts of plant material (lucerne chaff) at field capacity and when air dry. For both soils, the pH changes were greater at field capacity, whereas the buffer capacities were independent of the water treatments. The pH changes observed could be explained in terms of the organic anion concentr...

Urbanization in China drives soil acidification of Pinus massoniana forests

Soil acidification instead of alkalization has become a new environmental issue caused by urbanization. However, it remains unclear the characters and main contributors of this acidification. We investigated the effects of an urbanization gradient on soil acidity of Pinus massoniana forests in Pearl River Delta, South China. The soil pH of pine forests at 20-cm depth had significantly positive ...