Effects of long-term artificial acidification on the ground vegetation and soil in a 100 year-old stand of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris)

A study on the effects of eight years application of artificial acid rain on the vegetation and soil in an old Scots pine forest is described. Artificial rain of pH 2.5 and 3.0 caused severe damage to mosses, especially Pleurozium schreberi and Dicranum polysetum. The presence of Melampyrum pratense decreased drastically in plots treated with rain of pH 2.5 and 3.0. In Vaccinium myrtillus reduced leaf production was found in plots treated with rain of pH 2.5. A considerable decrease in base saturation had taken place in plots treated with pH 2.5 and pH 3.0 rain. Exchangeable calcium and magnesium in particular had been reduced, and the content of mangnesium in tissue of Vaccinium myrtillus appeared also to be reduced in plots treated with water of pH 2.5. The study demonstrates the need for better methods in evaluating vegetation responses in field studies. The use of visual cover recording should be supplemented by frequency analysis and harvesting methods to get better estimates of changes in vegetation structure.