Free Essay On Acid Rain

Acid rain refers to the mixture of both wet and dry materials coming from the atmosphere and contains high amounts of sulfuric and nitric acids beyond the normal limits. Acid rain may affect plants through physiological damage of the tissues and cells and geochemical changes in the soil composition resulting in impaired growth (EPA, 2012). In most cases, acid rain kills plants indirectly by weakening the leaves and thus reducing the availability of food to the plant, or by exposing the plant to toxic substances that are slowly released into the soil (Rubin, 2009).
It has been shown that reduction in soil pH as a result of acid rain results in the dissolution of nutrients that are useful to the plant, which are then washed away before plants can use them as food. This dissolution of minerals also results in the dissolving toxic such as aluminum making them available to the plant. Combining the loss of nutrients and accessibility of toxic substances has been described as one of the main ways through which acid rain destroys plants (Hanna, 2012).
Even in cases where the soil is well buffered, plants may as well be affected by the acid rain. This is mainly observed in trees that are in high altitudes such as mountains where the quantity of acidic clouds, as well as fog, have a higher level of acidity than the rainfall. Bathing the leaves with this highly acidic fog result in stripping away of the essential nutrients contained in the leaves or the needles resulting in high susceptibility to destruction by other factors such as cold winter weather (EPA, 2012).
A number of the remedies that can help in the reduction of acid rain effect include reduction of SO2 emissions, adding limestone to affected areas, using alternative energy sources that have low environmental impact, and reduction in energy consumption among others (EPA, 2012). References
EPA. (2012). Reducing Acid Rain. Retrieved February 28, 2015, from Environmental Protection Agency: http://www.epa.gov/acidrain/reducing/index.html
Hanna, N. (2012). Effects of Acid Rain. Retrieved February 28, 2015, from http://www2.gsu.edu/~mstnrhx/EnviroBio%20Projects/AcidRain/effects.html
Rubin, K. (2009). Effect of acid rain on plants. Retrieved February 28, 2015, from https://www.soest.hawaii.edu/GG/ASK/acidrain4.html