Thge World of Chemistry
Effects on Soil
The soil has abundant amount of various metals and minerals. When these metals come in contact with acid rain there can be some harmful chemical reactions. These reactions can lead to soil erosion. Acid rains are known to reduce the fertility of the soil, leaving the land barren. Harmful acids can also reduce the amount of soil micro organisms which perform important job of breaking down the dead and decayed plants and other beings.
Rainfall: Acid soils are most often found in areas of high rainfall. Excess rainfall leaches base cation from the soil, increasing the percentage of Al3+ and H+ relative to other cations. Additionally, rainwater has a slightly acidic pH of 5.7 due to a reaction with CO2 in the atmosphere that forms carbonic acid.
Rainfall and Leaching
Excessive rainfall is an effective agent for removing basic cations (e.g., Ca, Mg, K) over a long time period (thousands of years) leaving behind more stable materials rich in Fe and Al oxides. In Oklahoma, for example, we can generally conclude that soils are naturally acidic if the rainfall is above 30 inches per year. Therefore, soils east of I-35 tend to be acidic and those west of I-35, alkaline. There are many exceptions to this rule though, mostly as a result of item 4, intensive crop production. Rainfall is most effective in causing soils to become acidic if a lot of water moves through the soil rapidly. Sandy soils are often the first to become acidic because water percolates rapidly, and sandy soils contain only a small reservoir of bases (buffer capacity) due to low clay and organic matter contents. Since the effect of rainfall on acid soil development is very slow, it may take hundreds of years for new parent material to become acidic under high rainfall.
Managing Acid Soils
Liming.
Although planting acid-tolerant crops is a reasonable option for dealing with acid soils, liming is traditionally used to correct soil acidity and to improve
The soil has abundant amount of various metals and minerals. When these metals come in contact with acid rain there can be some harmful chemical reactions. These reactions can lead to soil erosion. Acid rains are known to reduce the fertility of the soil, leaving the land barren. Harmful acids can also reduce the amount of soil micro organisms which perform important job of breaking down the dead and decayed plants and other beings.
Rainfall: Acid soils are most often found in areas of high rainfall. Excess rainfall leaches base cation from the soil, increasing the percentage of Al3+ and H+ relative to other cations. Additionally, rainwater has a slightly acidic pH of 5.7 due to a reaction with CO2 in the atmosphere that forms carbonic acid.
Rainfall and Leaching
Excessive rainfall is an effective agent for removing basic cations (e.g., Ca, Mg, K) over a long time period (thousands of years) leaving behind more stable materials rich in Fe and Al oxides. In Oklahoma, for example, we can generally conclude that soils are naturally acidic if the rainfall is above 30 inches per year. Therefore, soils east of I-35 tend to be acidic and those west of I-35, alkaline. There are many exceptions to this rule though, mostly as a result of item 4, intensive crop production. Rainfall is most effective in causing soils to become acidic if a lot of water moves through the soil rapidly. Sandy soils are often the first to become acidic because water percolates rapidly, and sandy soils contain only a small reservoir of bases (buffer capacity) due to low clay and organic matter contents. Since the effect of rainfall on acid soil development is very slow, it may take hundreds of years for new parent material to become acidic under high rainfall.
Managing Acid Soils
Liming.
Although planting acid-tolerant crops is a reasonable option for dealing with acid soils, liming is traditionally used to correct soil acidity and to improve