Forest Element Cycling

Abstract

Up to this point, we have focused on the effects of acid deposition on soils and soil solution. Acid deposition may affect nutrient cycles in forests quite directly by changing fluxes via solution (i.e., foliage and soil leaching). These changes in solution flux may in turn result in changes in solid-phase fluxes (litterfall) and, thus, affect the rate and nature of nutrient cycles as well, as will be discussed below. Also, the mere presence of a forest canopy affects input via dry deposition (gaseous and particulate); coniferous forests generally receive higher dry deposition inputs because of their perennial canopy and greater leaf area (Höfken 1983; Matzner 1983; Skeffington 1983).