Acidic rainfall is harmless under natural conditions UNIVERSITY’ PARK. Despite; much controversy, not all add rain ' is harmful, says James A. Lybchof the School of Forest Resources at, Penn State. Acidity from natural rainfall'has caused no apparent environmental damage, Lynch stated in < the summer issue of “Science .in, Agriculture/’ the quarterly magazine" of the Agricultural Experiment Station at Penn State.- The problem comes when" man made pollution is added to natural acid rain, he affirmed. He saidthe natural acidity of rain, snow, sleet, and hail is beneficial in breaking down the earth’s crust while releasing nutrients to plants and animals. Lynch is a forest hydrologist studying the effects of acid rain on small streams. He reported that naturally-occurring acidity rarely damages f wests' and farm crops. “Precipitation is naturally acidic due to the reaction of at mospheric moisture with normal levels of carbon dioxide in the air, and the presence of other acid- , forming substances from natural sources, "he commented.* Acidity in ram and other precipitation is expressed by its pH value. On a scale of zero to 14, a pH of 7 is neutral. Solutions below 7 are acid. Values above 7 are alkaline. Where uncontaminated by man, precipitation has a pH of 5.6t05,7. Adding manmade pollution to acid ram produces an average pH of about 4.1 m the. Northeast, Dr. Lynch noted. .This occurs when sulfur<and nitrogen oxides from the burning of fossil, fuels —by in dustries* autos, and power plants— react with natural precipitation to formsulfunc and nitnc add. Fortunately,- certain .mature! substances in the earth and at mosphere' can- .neutralize, or ••bu£fer” acids. If a watershed is alkaline, for example—containing limestone or bicarbonate—the lakes and streams in the area will not be affected strongly by acids. “Fertilized farqa soils are less likely to becomejfcidic from rams than nutnent-poor forest soils,” he said. The fertilizer acts, -as a buffering agent and 1 , replaces nutrients leached by acidic rains.” He claimed the most dramatic effects of acad rain have been observed in lakes and streams. For several decades, declining pH of lake-waters in the Northeastern states' and Canada has been associated with acid ram. More than half of the remote mountain lakes above 2000 foot elevation in the- Adirondack ' Mountains of New York have pH values below 5.0. Ninety percent of these lakes now contain no fish. In Contrast, only 4 percent of the lakes had ? pH under between Pa. fieldwork gears up for HARRISBURG Harvest of rated 67 percent adequate and 33 Pennsylvania fruit and vegetable* percent short, crops was in full swing during the The state’s tobacco crop is 60 week ending September 7, percent harvested compared with pitfrnngh showers - limited farm 51 percent harvester at this time fieldwork to two days, according to last year. Statewide, the potato the Pennsylvania Crop Reporting drop is 44 percent harvester Service. Field activities during the compared with 40 percent last ' week included harvesting ensilage year. In the north 29 percent was com, potatoes, tobacco and ap-' harvester, while 50 percent was plesr planting wheat; baling harvester in central regions and 52 straw; fixing fences; repairing percent in the south, machinery; spreading manure. Com for grain in Pennsylvania is lime - and fertilizer; clipping 44 percent in dough, 45 percent pastures; and plowing. dented and seven percent mature, In most areas of the state, the compared with 43 percent in sweet com crop was reported as dough, 44 percent dented and less excellent although com borer did than five percent mature. In the some damage to the late varieties, north 49 percent was reported in Green pea yield was reported dough, 36 percent dented and eight good; cabbage and tomatoes are percent mature. The central looking good although tomatoes region reported 46 percent in are ripening slowly; cantaloupes dough, 51 percent dented and less and melons are having vine than five percent mature, while the problems due to the dry weather; southern region reported 32 per and apples and peaches have sizes cent in dough, 56 percent dented up Very well. ' - and 11 percent mature. Ensilage Topsoil moisture in Qie state was - com is nine percent complete rated’ .43 percent adequate, _34 compared with 16 percent last' percent surplus and 23 -■* : 1 : short., Imthe -north,«soil moisture? * ■ FalT’plownijfsn was 47 percent surplus, 41 percent -wealth is 36 percent complete, on a adequate and 12 percent short, par “with last yfear. The north re- Central regions rated soil moisture ported 29 percent complete, the 45 percent surplus, 33 percent short and 22 percent adequate, while southern regions soil moisture was 1020 and 1037 and fish were abundant * Rapid changes in stream pH have been noticed during mtense storm. runoff or snowmelt. Changes in pH from 7.0 to 5.5 have been measured during storms in ___ central Pennsylvania. This in-' " dicates a sharp increase in acidity. “These rapid shifts m pH may be more harmful to streamlife than gradual, long-term Increases in acidity,” Lynch reported. “Various aquatic organisms may not be able to adjust themselves to a rapidly changing environment," he added. Lancaster Farming, Saturday, September 12,1981—A23 The most serious, plant injuries due to acidity create lesions or brown spots on foliage. In addition, protective waxes are eroded from leaf surfaces. Such injuries may also increase the chance that plants can be infected by diseases from bacteria and fungi. The outcome of injuries is reduced plant photosynthesis,-the process by which plants convert sunlight, into carbohydrates. Lower photosynthesis reduces plant growth~and decreases a plant's chance for survival. - Acid ram may also affect domestic water supplies, he central region 52 percent complete and the south 32 percent complete. Third cutting alfalfa was rated as 57 percent complete compared with 63 percent last year. The northern region reported 30 per cent of the third cut harvested; the central region reported 61 percent harvested; and the southern region reported 78 percent harvested. Fourth cutting alfalfa was report ed as nine percent complete stater wide compared with 11 percent last USDA revokes N.Y. produce firm’s license * NEW YORK, N.,Y. - Eastco Potato Distributors, Inc., Riverhead, N.Y., has had its produce trading license revoked by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for failing to pay a reparation award of 63,618 for .potatoes shipped during July, 1079. USDA’s Agricultural Marketing award is paid. The firm’s sole {Service, which licenses produce _joffieer, director, and stockholder firms under . the Perishable Fred Juliano, Jr.—may. not be Agricultural Commodities Act, employed by or affiliated with any had charged the firm with failing pACA licensee without USDA to pay the agreed purchase price to approval. cautioned.. Concentrations of toxic metals; such as aluminum and zinc and nutrient ions are highest m acidic water. If these particles are transferred to surface and groundwater, the quality may deteriorate. Further details are given in the Summer issue of “Science in Agriculture.” The magazine features articles on research, extension, and resident education in the College of Agriculture. For free copies, write to 22S Agricultural Administration Building, University Park; PA 16802. harvest year. The northern and central regions reported five percent of file fourth.cut harvested, while the southern region reported 14 per cent harvested. The second catting of clover timothy' was rated as 85 percent complete compared with 93 per cent last year. The northern region reported 83 percent complete, the central region 84 percent complete and the southern region 89 percent complete. a Maine shipper. Charles Brader, marketing official with AMS, said the firm answered the shipper’s charges but that, based on the evidence, USDA ruled that the shipper was due the amount claimed. The firm is ineligible to conduct business subject to the act until the
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