Acid rain is widely considered one of
our most serious environmental problems.
In landscapes where hydrology
and geochemistry do not allow complete
neutralization of acid runoff, acid rain is
thought to be acidifying lakes and
streams, as well as mobilizing aluminum
and other metals toxic to fish and plants.
Nutrients are also thought to be depleted
by acid rain, raising concern about large
areas of productive forests located on
soils that are strongly acid and low in
nutrients. A gradual acidification and
sterilization of our soil and water, particularly
in parts of the Adirondacks, northern
New England, southeastern Canada,
and southern Scandinavia, is predicted.
From its inception, however, soil formation
in humid temperature climates is
an acidifying process, mediated by the
classic factors of geology, climate, biology,
topography, and time. Indeed, the
factors thought to make landscapes sensitive
to acid rain are those that develop
some of the most acid soils in the world.
The results of natural soil formation are
those attributed to acid rain: leaching of
nutrients, release of aluminum, and
acidification of soil and water.