Acid Rain Effects on Soil - Tree Growth Leaching Nutrients
Trees derive their nutrition primarily from element ions such as calcium, Ca, magnesium, Mg, and potassium, K that have dissolved from rocks into the soil.
Acid deposition adds hydrogen ions, which displace these important nutrients in a process called leaching. Leaching means that the ions are washed deeper into the subsoil or washed out of the top soil. If ions are leached from the soil, they are no longer available to the roots of the plants.
Calcium ion is used in the cells of a tree for cell formation and in the processes that transport sugars, water, and other nutrients from the roots to the leaves.
Magnesium ion is a vital element in photosynthesis and as a carrier of phosphorus which is important in the production of DNA. These ions may be unavailable to the tree roots because they have been leached away.
