A new look at liming as an approach to accelerate recovery from acidic deposition effects
Graphical abstract
Liming is no longer needed to prevent further damage from acidic deposition. However, recovery of calcium-depleted ecosystems is sluggish and the conditions of full recovery remain uncertain. Whole-watershed liming may accelerate recovery in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems where recovery is being impeded by low availability of calcium.
Introduction
Acidic deposition caused by fossil fuel combustion has degraded aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems in North America and Europe for over four decades. The widespread recognition of consequences of ecosystem acidification has led to effective political and regulatory efforts to reduce emissions and corresponding deposition of acidifying substances (Burns et al., 2011). For example, in the northeastern U.S., wet deposition of sulfur in 2010 was approximately one-quarter of the level in 1980 (http://nadp.sws.uiuc.edu/; accessed Sept. 25, 2015). However, the lowering of emissions has been a gradual process and further reductions have been recommended to achieve recovery goals (Burns et al., 2011).
The only management option other than emissions reductions for combating the effects of acidic deposition has been the application of substances to neutralize acidity, most often lime, after the acids have been deposited on the landscape. Lake and stream liming was initially used as a fisheries management tool to neutralize acidic waters as a stopgap measure or in the earliest stages to simply improve water quality before acidic deposition was discovered (personal communication, H.A. Simonin, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, retired). For this reason, liming has been a part of acid rain science from the beginning (Scheider et al., 1975) and has continued to be used for both experimental (Sterling et al., 2014) and operational purposes (Hesthagen et al., 2011, Moore et al., 2015).
With recovery of surface waters (Clair et al., 2011, Strock et al., 2014, Wright et al., 2005) and soils (Lawrence et al., 2015a) underway, and acidic deposition levels continuing to decline, liming is no longer needed to prevent further damage. The question has now become whether liming would be useful for accelerating recovery of systems where improvement has lagged. Slow chemical responses of surface waters and soils to decreasing emissions has been linked to Ca depletion from decades of elevated soil leaching by acidic deposition (Likens et al., 1996). The capacity of soils to replenish lost Ca under current and future emissions remains uncertain (Lawrence et al., 2012, Lawrence et al., 2015a).
Under these current conditions, liming remains a potential management option to boost the availability of Ca in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems where Ca depletion limits the reversal of acidic deposition effects. Therefore, the objective of this review is to assess liming as a possible tool to accelerate recovery of ecosystems within the context of our current understanding of recovery processes. Because the current status of recovery is a key factor in the efficacy of liming, this article begins with a summary of the chemical recovery status of North American surface waters and soils. This assessment considers the treatment of both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems to identify (1) the settings and application methods with the greatest likelihood of improving overall ecosystem health, and (2) the remaining questions that need to be addressed to fully weigh the benefits and drawbacks of liming as a remediation tool.
The literature on the use of liming to combat acidic deposition effects in Europe and North America is extensive. For this review we have chosen North America as the geographic focus, but include European studies with high relevance to North American conditions.
Section snippets
Lakes
The most pronounced reversals of lake acidification have occurred in regions where peak acidic deposition levels were highest and where decreases were greatest. In the area surrounding Sudbury, Ontario, emissions of SO2 from metal smelters decreased from 2500 metric kilotons per year in 1960 to < 300 metric kilotons in 2002. In response, surveys of 44 lakes in this region showed that the number of lakes with pH < 5.0 decreased from 28 in 1981 to 6 in 2004 (Keller et al., 2007). However, only 14 of
Direct lime application to lake surfaces
Adding lime directly to the surface of lakes provides a seemingly inexpensive and straightforward method for raising pH and ANC of lakes. This approach was extensively researched in North America and Europe in the 1980s, when acidic deposition rates were typically three to four times the rates in 2010–2015. In two Adirondack lakes limed in May 1985, ANC increased from negative values up to 450–550 meq L− 1 within one month. However, by late fall of the same year high flushing rates caused by high
Liming effects on mercury cycling
Environmental mercury (Hg) contamination is a widespread problem in the US and globally (Driscoll et al., 2013). While Hg contamination can be highly localized due to activities such as mining and waste incineration, atmospheric Hg that originates from emissions associated with coal combustion, volcanic activity, and other sources is largely responsible for Hg deposition in locations far removed from most human activities (Pirrone et al., 2010). These locations include many of the same regions
Conclusions
As more is learned about how ecosystems are recovering from acidic deposition it has become clear that recovery rates vary with watershed characteristics and among ecosystem components. Drainage lakes in watersheds with thin glacial till, which are generally considered the most acid-sensitive, are showing stronger recovery responses than lakes in watersheds that are better buffered with relatively thick till deposits (Driscoll et al., 2007). Streams with the lowest ANC have also been found to
Acknowledgements
Funding for this review was provided by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) (22237) and the U.S. Geological Survey. We thank Howard Simonin for his helpful review.
References (139)
- et al.
Changes in soil macroinvertebrate communities following liming of acidified forested catchments in the Vosges Mountains (North-eastern France)
Ecol. Eng.
(2012) Changes in primary productivity associated with liming and reacidification of an Adirondack Lake
Environ. Pollut.
(1993)- et al.
The effects of a whole-watershed calcium addition on the chemistry of stream storm events at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest in NH, USA
Sci. Total Environ.
(2009) - et al.
Changes in the chemistry of lakes in the Adirondack Region of New York following declines in acidic deposition
Appl. Geochem.
(2007) - et al.
Changes in structure and composition of maple–beech stands following sugar maple decline in Quebec, Canada
For. Ecol. Manag.
(2005) - et al.
Mercury methylation in aquatic systems affected by acid deposition
Environ. Pollut.
(1991) - et al.
Mercury in fish in Swedish lakes
Environ. Pollut.
(1988) - et al.
Food web analysis reveals effects of pH on mercury bioaccumulation at multiple trophic levels in streams
Aquat. Toxicol.
(2013) - et al.
Changes in the chemistry of acidifed Adirondack streams from the early 1980s to 2008
Environ. Pollut.
(2011) - et al.
Rate of litter decay and litter macroinvertebrates in limed and unlimed forests of the Adirondack Mountains, USA
For. Ecol. Manag.
(2013)
Short-term effect of forest liming on eastern red-backed salamander (Plethodon cinereus)
For. Ecol. Manag.
Soil and sugar maple response 15 years after dolomitic lime application
For. Ecol. Manag.
Effects of liming on survival and reproduction of two potentially invasive earthworm species in a northern forest podzol
Soil Biol. Biochem.
Half a century of changing mercury levels in Swedish freshwater fish
Ambio
Mercury in fish muscle in acidified and limed lakes
Water Air Soil Pollut.
Persistent mortality of brook trout in episodically acidified streams of the southwestern Adirondack Mountains, New York
Trans. Am. Fish. Soc.
Restoring soil calcium reverses forest decline
Environ. Sci. Technol.
Changes in faunal and vegetation communities along a soil calcium gradient in northern hardwood forests
Can. J. For. Res.
Impact of acidification on the methylmercury cycle of remote seepage lakes
Water Air Soil Pollut.
Long-term effects of catchment liming on invertebrates in upland streams
Freshwat. Biol.
Effects of base addition on primary production in acidified Adirondack (New York) lakes: changes in phytoplankton biomas, productivity, and species composition
Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci.
Response of surface water chemistry to reduced levels of acid precipitation: comparison of trends in two regions of New York
Hydrol. Process.
National Acid Precipitation Assessment Program Report to Congress 2011: An Integrated assessment
Chemical changes in soil and soil solution after calcium silicate addition to a northern hardwood forest
Biogeochemistry
Beaver pond biogeochemistry: acid neutralizing capacity generation in a headwater wetland
Wetlands
Liming for the mitigation of acid rain effects in freshwaters: A review of recent results
Environ. Rev.
Water chemistry and dissolved organic carbon trends in lakes from Canada's Atlantic Provinces: no recovery from acidification measured after 25 years of lake monitoring
Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci.
Macroinvertebrate responses to mitigative liming of Dogway Fork, West Virginia
Restor. Ecol.
Application of limestone to restore fish communities in acidified streams
N. Am. J. Fish. Manage.
Methylmercury declines in a boreal peatland when experimental sulfate deposition decreases
Environ. Sci. Technol.
Factors influencing changes in mercury concentrations in lake water and yellow perch (Perca flavescens) in Adirondack lakes
Biogeochemistry
Low cost limestone treatment of acid sensitive trout streams in the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia
Water Air Soil Pollut.
Chemical response of lakes treated with CaCO3 to reacidification
Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci.
The mercury cycle and fish in the Adirondack lakes
Environ. Sci. Technol.
Acidic deposition in the northeastern United States: sources and inputs, ecosystem effects, and management strategies
Bioscience
Mercury as a global pollutant: sources, pathways, and effects
Environ. Sci. Technol.
Basal area growth of sugar maple in relation to acid deposition, stand health, and soil nutrients
J. Environ. Qual.
Effects of liming on an acid-sensitive southern Appalachian stream
Restor. Ecol.
Population density of Brown trout (Salmo trutta) in extremely dilute water qualities in mountain lakes in southwestern Norway
Water Air Soil Pollut.
Acidity controls on dissolved organic carbon mobility in organic soils
Glob. Chang. Biol.
Biological mercury hotspots in the northeastern United States and southeastern Canada
Bioscience
Response of phytoplankton communities to acidification and recovery in Killarney Park and the experimental lakes area, Ontario
Ambio
Recovery from chronic and snowmelt acidification: long-term trends in stream and soil water chemistry at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, New Hampshire, USA
J. Geophys. Res. (G Biogeosci.)
Principal biogeochemical factors affecting the speciation and transport of mercury through the terrestrial environment
Environ. Geochem. Health
Patterns of nutrient dynamics in Adirondack lakes recovering from acid deposition
Ecol. Appl.
An evaluation of the New York State lake liming data and the application of models from the Scandinavian lakes to Adirondack lakes
Water Air Soil Pollut.
Calcium constrains plant control over forest ecosystem nitrogen cycling
Ecology
Calcium additions and microbial nitrogen cycle processes in a northern hardwood forest
Ecosystems
The efficacy of a limestone doser to mitigate stream acidification in a Maryland coastal plain stream: implications for migratory fish species
Environ. Monit. Assess.
Influence of nutrition and stress on sugar maple at a regional scale
Can. J. For. Res.
Cited by (42)
Improving liming mode for remediation of Cd-contaminated acidic paddy soils: Identifying the optimal soil pH, model and efficacies
2024, Ecotoxicology and Environmental SafetyChemistry of soil and foliage in declining sugar maple stands over 13 years of nitrogen addition
2023, Forest Ecology and ManagementForest remediation options in the face of excess nitrogen deposition
2023, Atmospheric Nitrogen Deposition to Global Forests: Spatial Variation, Impacts, and Management ImplicationsSoil Acidification caused by excessive application of nitrogen fertilizer aggravates soil-borne diseases: Evidence from literature review and field trials
2022, Agriculture, Ecosystems and EnvironmentCitation Excerpt :Therefore, soil acidification has a direct influence on plant growth, microbial diversity and the soil ecosystem, leading to an imbalance in the soil microecosystem and eventually the enrichment of soil-borne pathogens in the soil. Previous studies have shown that nitrogen deposition, acid deposition and continuous cropping can cause soil acidification (Raut et al., 2012; Lawrence et al., 2016; Akimoto et al., 2022). Our meta-analysis demonstrated that the application of nitrogen fertilizer and the accumulation of phenolic acids in soil were the main causes of soil acidification (Fig. 3D and E).
Liming legacy effects associated with the world's largest soil liming and regreening program in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada
2022, Science of the Total EnvironmentInland Waters—Rivers: Land Use and Water Quality
2022, Encyclopedia of Inland Waters, Second Edition