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EFFECT OF SIMULATED ACID RAIN ON NITRIFICATION AND NITROGEN MINERALIZATION IN FOREST SOILS
Citation:
Strayer, R., C. Lin, AND M. Alexander. EFFECT OF SIMULATED ACID RAIN ON NITRIFICATION AND NITROGEN MINERALIZATION IN FOREST SOILS. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/J-81/695.
Description:
To determine the possible microbiological changes in soil resulting from acid rain, columns containing samples of forest soils were leached with either a continuous application of 100cm of simulated acid rain (pH3.2-4.1) at 5 cm/hour or an intermittent 1.5-hour application of 1.2 cm of simulated acid rain twice weekly for 19 weeks. The upper 1.0- to 1.5-cm portions of soil from treated columns were used to determine the changes in inorganic N levels in the soil. Nitrification of added ammonium (NH4(+)) was inhibited following continuous exposure of soil to simulated acid rain of pH 4.1-3.2. The extent of the inhibition was directly related to the acidity of the simulated rain solutions. The production of inorganic N in the absence of added NH(+) was either stimulated or unaffected following continuous treatment of soils with pH 3.2 simulated acid rain. The addition of nitrapyrine, an inhibitor of autotrophic nitrification, caused a decrease in nitrification in water-treated soil but had little effect on nitrification in soil treated with pH 3.2 simulated acid rain.