Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The effects of acid deposition on the biogeochemical cycles of major nutrients in miniature red spruce ecosystems

  • Published:
Biogeochemistry Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

As part of an experimental study of air pollution effects on tree growth and health, we combined process studies with an ecosystem approach to evaluate the effects of acidic deposition on soil acidification, nutrient cycling and proton fluxes in miniature red spruce ecosystems. Ninety red spruce saplings were transplanted into 1-m diameter pots containing reconstructed soil profiles and exposed to simulated acid rain treatments of pH 3.1, 4.1 and 5.1 for four consecutive growing seasons. All the principal fluxes of the major elements were measured.

During the first year of treatments, the disturbance associated with the transplanting of the experimental trees masked any treatment effects by stimulating N mineralization rates and consequent high N03 − cation, and H+ flux through the soil profile. In subsequent years, leaching of base cations and labile Al was accelerated in the most intensive acid treatment and corresponding declines in soil pH and exchangeable pools of Ca and Mg and increases in exchangeable Al concentrations were observed in the organic horizon. Leaching of Ca2+ and Mg2+ also was significantly higher in the pH 4.1 than in the pH 5.1 treatment. Flux of Ca from foliage and soil was increased in response to strong acid loading and root uptake increased to compensate for foliar Ca losses. In contrast, K cycling was dominated by root uptake and internal cycling and was relatively insensitive to strong acid inputs. Cation leaching induced by acidic deposition was responsible for the majority of H+ flux in the pH 3.1 treatment in the organic soil horizon whereas root uptake accounted for most of the H+ flux in the pH 4.1 and 5.1 treatments. Although no measurable effects on tree nutrition or health were observed, base cation leaching was significantly accelerated by acidic deposition, even at levels below that observed in the eastern U.S., warranting continued concern about acid deposition effects on the soil base status of forested ecosystems.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abrahamsen G (1983) Sulphur pollution: Ca, Mg, and Al in soil and soil water and possible effects on forest trees. In: Ulrich B & Pankrath J (Eds) Effects of Accumalation of Air Pollutants in Forest Ecosystems (pp 207–218). D. Reidel Co., Dordrecht, Holland

    Google Scholar 

  • Arthur MA (1990) The effects of vegetation on watershed biochemistry at Loch Vale Watershed, Rocky Mountain State Park, Colorado. PhD Diss., Cornell University, NY

  • Arthur MA & Fahey TJ (1993) Controls on soil solution chemistry in a subalpine forest in NorthCentral Colorado. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 57: 1122–1130

    Google Scholar 

  • Binkley D (1992) H+ Budgets. In: Johnson DW & Lindberg SE (Eds) Atmospheric Deposition and Forest Nutrient Cycling (pp 450–466). Springer-Verlag, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Binkley D & Richter D (1987) Nutrient cycles and H+ budgets of forest ecosystems. Adv. Ecol. Res. 16: 1–15

    Google Scholar 

  • Binkley D, Driscoll CT, Allen HL, Schoeneberger P & McAvoy D (1989) Acidic Deposition and Forest Soils. Springer-Verlag, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Cronan C (1980) Controls on leaching from coniferous forest floor microcosms. Plant and Soil 56: 301–322

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Driscoll CT (1984) A procedure for the fractionation of aqueous aluminum in dilute acidic waters. Intern. J. Environ. Anal. Chem. 16: 267–283

    Google Scholar 

  • Driscoll CT & Likens GE (1982) Hydrogen ion budget of an aggrading forested ecosystem. Tellus 34: 283–292

    Google Scholar 

  • Eno CF (1960) Nitrate production in the field by incubating the soil in polyethylene bags. Soil. Sci. Soc. Am. Proc. 24: 277–279

    Google Scholar 

  • Fahey TJ & Birk E (1991) Measuring internal distribution and resorption. In: Lassoie JP & Hinckley TM (Eds) Techniques and Approaches in Forest Tree Ecophysiology. (pp 225–245). CRC Press, Inc. Boca Raton, FL

    Google Scholar 

  • Fahey TJ & Knight DH (1986) Lodgepole pine ecosystems. Bioscience 36: 610–616

    Google Scholar 

  • Fernandez IJ & Rustad LE (1990) Soil response to S and N treatments in a northern New England low elevation coniferous forest. Water, Air, and Soil Pollution 52: 23–39

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Foster NW, Mitchell MJ, Morrison IK & Shepard JP (1991) Cycling of acid and base cations in deciduous stands of Huntington Forest, New York, and Turkey Lakes, Ontario. Can. J. For. Res. 22: 167–174

    Google Scholar 

  • Hantschel R, Horn R, Kaupenjohann M & Zech W (1988) Connections between forest decline and element fluxes in forest ecosystems in NE-Bavaria, FRG. In: Proceedings of the US/FRG Research Symposium: Effects of Atmospheric Pollutants on the Spruce-fir Forests of the Eastern United States and the Federal Republic of Germany, Burlington, VT, 18–23 Oct. 1987 (pp 461–493). Gen. Tech. Rep. NE-120, USDA-FS, Washington, DC

    Google Scholar 

  • Huffman EWD, Jr (1977) Performance of a new carbon dioxide coulometer. Microchem. J. 22: 567–573

    Google Scholar 

  • Irving, PM (Ed) (1991) Acidic Deposition-State of Science and Technology: Summary Report of the U.S. National Acid Precipitation Assessment Program. Washington, DC

  • Johnson AH, Friedland AJ, Miller EK & Siccama TG (1994) Acid rain and soils of the Adirondacks, III. Rates of soil acidification in a montane spruce-fir forest at Whiteface Mountain, NY. Can. J. For. Res., in press

  • Johnson CE, Johnson AH & Siccama TG (1991a) Whole-tree clear-cutting effects on exchangeable cations and soil acidity. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 55: 502–508

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson DW (1992a) Base cation distribution and cycling. In: Johnson DW & Lindberg SE (Eds) Atmospheric deposition and forest nutrient cycling. (pp 275–340). Springer-Verlag, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson DW (1992b) Relationships among atmospheric deposition, forest nutrient status, and forest decline. In: Johnson DW & Lindberg SE (Ed) Atmospheric Deposition and Forest Nutrient Cycling (pp 577–580). Springer-Verlag, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson DW (1992c) Nitrogen retention in forest soils. J. Environ. Qual. 21: 1–12

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson DW & Cole DW (1980) Anion mobility in soils: relevance to nutrient transport from forest ecosystems. Environ. Int. 3: 79–90

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johns DW & Lindberg SE (Eds) (1992) Atmospheric Deposition and Forest Nutient Cycling. Springer-Verlag, New York

  • Johnson DW, Richter DD, Lovett GM & Lindberg SE (1985) The effects of atmospheric deposition on potassium, calcium, magnesium cycling in two deciduous forests. Can. J. For. Res. 15: 773–782

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson DW, Van Miegroet H, Lindberg SE, Todd DE & Harrison RB (1991b) Nutrient cycling in red spruce forests of the Great Smoky Mountains. Can. J. For. Res. 21: 769–787

    Google Scholar 

  • Joslin JD, Kelly JM & Van Miegroet H (1992) Soil chemistry and nutrition of North American spruce-fir stands: evidence for recent change. J. Environ. Qual. 21: 12–30

    Google Scholar 

  • Katzensteiner K, Glatzel G & Kazda M (1992) Nitrogen-induced nutritional imbalances — a contributing factor to Norway spruce decline in the Bohemian Forest. Forest Ecology and Management 51: 29–42

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kohut RJ, Laurence JA & Amundson RG (1987) Evaluation of the effects of ozone and acid precipitation, alone and in combination, on the photosynthesis, nutrition, and growth of red spruce and sugar ample. In: Perry R, Harrison RM, Bell JNB & Lester JN (Eds) Acid rain: Scientific and Technical Advances (pp 58–595). Selper Ltd., London

    Google Scholar 

  • Kreutzer K, Reiter H, Schierl R & Gottlein A (1989) Effects of acid irrigation and liming in a Norway spruce stand. Water, Air, and Soil Pollution 48: 111–125

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krug EC & Frink CR (1983) Acid rain on acid soil: a new perspective. Science 221: 520–523

    Google Scholar 

  • Lauver TA, Laurence JA & Kohut RJ (1990) A weighing lysimeter for determining water loss in red spruce saplings. Environ. Exp. Botany 30: 157–164

    Google Scholar 

  • Lovett GM (1992) Atmospheric deposition and canopy interactions of nitrogen. In: Johnson DW & Lindberg SE (Eds) Atmospheric Deposition and Forest Nutrient Cycling (pp 152–166). Springer-Verlag, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Matzner E & Ulrich B (1987) Results of studies on forest decline in Northwest Germany. In: Hutchinson TC & Meena KM (Eds) Effects of Atmospheric Pollutants on Forests, Wetlands, and Agricultural Systems (pp 52–42). Springer-Verlag, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Menzel DW & Vaccaro RF (1964) The measurement of dissolved organic and particulate carbon in seawater. Limnol. Oceanogr. 9: 138–142

    Google Scholar 

  • Mitchell MJ, Driscoll CT, Fuller RD, David MB & Likens GE (1989) Effect of whole-tree harvesting on the sulfur dynamics of a forest soil. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 53: 933–940

    Google Scholar 

  • Nodvin SC, Driscoll CT & Likens GE (1986) The effect of pH on sulfate adsorption in a forest soil. Soil Science 142: 69–75

    Google Scholar 

  • Nodvin SC, Driscoll CT & Likens GE (1988) Soil processes and sulfate loss at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest. Biogeochemistry 5: 185–199

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pu M, Fahey TJ & Hughes JW (1993) Effects of soil disturbance on vegetation recovery and nutrient accumulation following whole-tree harvest of a northern hardwood ecosystem. J. Applied Ecol. 30: 661–675

    Google Scholar 

  • Reuss JO & Johnson DW (1986) Acid Deposition and the Acidification of Soils and Waters. Springer-Verlag, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Schaefer DA, Conklin P & Koerr K (1992a) Atmospheric deposition of acids. In: Johnson DW & Lindberg SE (Eds) Atmospheric Deposition and Forest Nutrient Cycling. (pp 442–444). Springer-Verlag, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Schaefer DA, Lindberg SE & Lovett GM (1992b) Canopy interactions. In: Johnson DW & Lindberg SE (Eds), Atmospheric Deposition and Forest Nutrient Cycling (pp 444–449). Springer-Verlag, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Schultze ED (1989) Air pollution and forest decline in a spruce (Picea abies) forest. Science 244: 776–783

    Google Scholar 

  • Shortle WC & Smith KT (1988) Aluminum-induced calcium deficiency syndrome in declining red spruce. Science 240: 239–240

    Google Scholar 

  • Simmons JA (1991) A computer simulation of water and energy movement through a red spruce soil system. MS Thesis, Cornell University

  • Sokal RR & Rolf FJ (1981) Biometry. 2nd edition. W.H. Freeman and Co., New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Stuanes AO, Abrahamsen G & Tveite B (1988) Effects of artificial rain on soil chemical properties and forest growth. In: Mathy P (Ed) Air pollution and Ecosystems (pp 248–253). D. Reidel Publishing Co., Dordrecht, The Netherlands

    Google Scholar 

  • Thornton FC, Schaedle M & Raynal DJ (1987) Effects of Al on red spruce seedlings in solution culture. Environ. Exp. Botany 27: 489–498

    Google Scholar 

  • Tietema A & Verstraten JM (1991) Nitrogen cycling in an acid forest ecosystem in the Netherlands under increased atmospheric nitrogen input. Biogeochemistry 15: 21–46

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tomlinson GH (1990) Effects of acid deposition on the forests of Europe and North America. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL

    Google Scholar 

  • Ulrich B, Mayer R & Khanna PK (1980) Chemical changes due to acid precipitation in a loess-derived soil in central Europe. Soil Science 130: 193–199

    Google Scholar 

  • Vitousek PM (1977) The regulation of element concentrations in mountain streams in the northeastern United States. Ecolog. Monogr. 47: 65–87

    Google Scholar 

  • Wada K & Okamura Y (1980) Electric charge characteristics of Ando A1 and buried A1 horizon soils. J. Soil Sci. 31: 307–314

    Google Scholar 

  • Waring RH & Schlesinger WH (1985) Forest Ecosystems: Concepts and Management. Academic Press, Inc., Orlando, FL

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Natural Resources, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, 14853, USA

    Ruth E. Sherman & Timothy J. Fahey

Authors
  1. Ruth E. Sherman
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Timothy J. Fahey
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Sherman, R.E., Fahey, T.J. The effects of acid deposition on the biogeochemical cycles of major nutrients in miniature red spruce ecosystems. Biogeochemistry 24, 85–114 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02390181

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02390181

Key words

Search

Navigation