Long term trends of dry and wet deposition of air pollutants at declining forest site of Mt. Oyama in Japan during 1994–2019

Abstract

Forest decline, which occurs in mountainous regions in many countries, may result from the effects of acid fog, ozone, or deposition of other pollutants. We observed wet deposition of air pollutants at different altitudes on Mt. Oyama, situated southwest of Tokyo, for 1994 until 2019. During this period, the domestic atmospheric environment was improved in Japan. The average concentration of air pollutants around all the sampling sites on Mt. Oyama decreased by 63.01%, 32.08%, 8.80%, and 39.73% for NH3, HCl, HNO3, and SO2, respectively. The volume weighted mean (VWM) pH values showed an increasing trend for bulk deposition (+0.70% y-1), fog water (+2.58% y-1), and throughfall (+2.60% y-1). Stemflow also increased (cedar, +1.17% y-1; fir, +0.82% y-1), although it included organic acids dissolved from the stem and it primarily had a low VWM pH value. The overall pH value of the fog water increased at the site, although acidic fog was still observed. Comparing fog water between winter and summer, a significant increase in pH occurred in summer, whereas no change occurred in winter. In summer, the sources of pollutants at Mt. Oyama are mainly from mainland Japan, and the frequency of low-pH acidic fog decreased annually. In winter, Mt. Oyama was affected by transboundary pollution, and acid fog occasionally occurred. Improvements in the domestic atmospheric environment and control of transboundary pollution will provide better conditions for mountain ecology that are free from acidic pollutants.