Changes in soil pH across England and Wales in response to decreased acid deposition

Abstract

Analysis of data from the National Soil Inventory of England and Wales obtained between 1978 and 2003 shows widespread increases in soil pH -i.e., soils became less acid -across both countries during the survey period. In general, soil pH increased under all land uses. At least part of the increase and its regional variation could be explained by decreased sulphur deposition from the atmosphere. Changes in liming practices on arable land probably also contributed. The effect of decreased sulphur deposition was moderated by land use, soil properties -particularly soil pH and organic carbon content -and the level of past sulphur deposition.

Toward a recovery time: forest herbs insight related to anthropogenic acidification

“…Through experimental data in grasslands these authors reported a rapid recovery response in soil N cycling processes of limestone grassland within 5 years after the cessation of treatments, implying acidifying N inputs (O'Sullivan et al, 2011). This recovery observed in less acidic soils and based on measurements of permanent plots as well as the recovery reported by Kirk et al (2010) in England and Wales are consistent with our findings. This recovery observed in less acidic soils and based on measurements of permanent plots as well as the recovery reported by Kirk et al (2010) in England and Wales are consistent with our findings.…”

“…Within the nonacidic forest areas, the significant recent pH increase in eastern France is consistent with the recent decrease in S and, to a lesser extent, N deposi-tion in this region and the increase in base cation as demonstrated by Croisé et al (2005). As reported by Kirk et al (2010) in acidic soils there will be a rise in pH following decreases in acid deposition, until the balance between H + consumption in weathering and H + production in other processes in the soil is restored. This latter was observed at the Central Massif region (central south of France), where the highest sulfur, nitrate, and ammonium deposits were reported in the late 1990s (Croisé et al, 2005) compared with the other French regions.…”

“…These patterns may be explained by differences in substrates properties (Ulrich, 1983;Kirk et al, 2010). These patterns may be explained by differences in substrates properties (Ulrich, 1983;Kirk et al, 2010).…”

“…In nonacidic areas, the low magnitude (the pH decrease in nonacidic areas was a third of that observed in acidic areas) and late significant pH decrease since the 1984 period could be explained by their natural higher buffer capacity, which delays the response to acidic deposition, and their high base cation status (Ulrich, 1983). Furthermore, the high acid neutralizing capacity of base-rich areas (Kirk et al, 2010) and the high content of soil carbonates stored in soils (Yang et al, 2012) may limit substantial changes. Furthermore, the high acid neutralizing capacity of base-rich areas (Kirk et al, 2010) and the high content of soil carbonates stored in soils (Yang et al, 2012) may limit substantial changes.…”

“…Similarly, the detection of such effects over a large-scale area is also necessary because potential drivers and their ecological consequences operate at national and continental scales (Smart et al, 2003). However, such studies are scarce (e.g., Blake et al, 1999;Emmett et al, 2010;Kirk et al, 2010), and the majority of existing works have reported the magnitude of changes over time, but covered only small regions or specific plots (De Schrijver et al, 2006;van der Heijden et al, 2011).…”