The drastic growth of population in highly industrialized urban areas, as well as fossil fuel use, is increasing levels of airborne pollutants and enhancing acid rain. In rapidly developing countries such as Iran, the occurrence of acid rain has also increased. Acid rain is a driving factor of erosion due to the destructive effects on biota and aggregate stability; however, little is known about its impact on specific rates of erosion at the pedon scale. Thus, the present study aimed to investigate the effect of acid rain at pH levels of 5.25, 4.25, and 3.75 for rainfall intensities of 40, 60, and 80 mm h−1 on initial soil erosion processes under dry and saturated soil conditions using rainfall simulations. The results were compared using a two‐way ANOVA and Duncan tests and showed that initial soil erosion rates with acidic rain and non‐acidic rain under dry soil conditions were significantly different. The highest levels of soil particle loss due to splash effects in all rainfall intensities were observed with the most acidic rain (pH = 3.75), reaching maximum values of 16 g m−2 min−1. The lowest levels of particle losses were observed in the control plot where non‐acidic rain was used, with values ranging from 3.8 to 8.1 g m−2 min−1. Similarly, under saturated soil conditions, the lowest level of soil particle loss was observed in the control plot, and the highest peaks of soil loss were observed for the most acidic rains (pH = 3.75 and pH = 4.25), reaching maximum average values of 40 g m−2 min−1. However, for saturated soils with acidic water but with non‐acidic rain, the highest soil particle loss was observed for the control plot for all the rainfall intensities. In conclusion, acidic rain has a negative impact on soils, which can be more intense with a concomitant increase in rainfall intensity. Rapid solutions, therefore, need to be found to reduce the emission of pollutants into the air, otherwise, rainfall erosivity may drastically increase.
Nowadays, acid rain serves as one of the most serious environmental problems has affected many regions in the world. This phenomenon is characterized by many environmental impacts, such as soil contamination and degradation. Acid rain immediately affects soil, causing soil particles to breakdown and be dispersed; this is the first step to initiate the soil erosion. Therefore, in this study, the effect of different pH levels of acid rain (at different levels) on the soil splash was investigated under laboratory conditions using a rain simulator and a cup splash. In the experiments, acid rains, with the pH values of 3.75, 4.25, 5.25 and normal rains at three intensities of 40, 60 and 80 mmh-1 , were studied; finally, a number of 36 samples were taken for statistical analyses. SPSS 23 and EXCEL 2013 software and one way and two-way ANOVA were used for the statistical analysis at a confidence level of 95%. The results showed that at the intensities of 40 and 60 mmh-1 , the splash rate was significantly different in all pH treatments, and the acid rain with pH of 3.75 showed the highest splash rate. However, no significant difference was found at the rain intensity of 80 mmh-1 , despite the higher splash rate at the pH of 4.25 and 5.25 treatments. Also, the results of the comparison of the means showed that the soil splash rate was also increased with enhancing rain intensity. Finally, the two-way ANOVA test showed that the simultaneous interaction effects of the two factors of pH and rain intensity on soil splash was not significant.
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