Abstract
ABSTRACT The chemical composition of rainfall, agricultural runoff, groundwater, and pond water at several rural Oklahoma and north Texas locations was determined over a number of years (1972–1985). The inputs of acid, P, Cl, and cations in rainfall are not of major agronomic importance, although inputs of N (as NO3-N and NH4-N) and S (as SO4) in rainfall can contribute a significant proportion of the uptake of these elements by grasses or crops. The mean annual pH of rainfall was consistently greater than that of pure rainfall (5.6) averaging 6.5, while the average pH of two farm ponds (7.8) was even greater than that of rainfall. If a decrease in the pH of rainfall in the Southern Plains should occur in the future, the impact of the acidity on surface water will be reduced to a certain degree by the buffering capacity of the area soils. Appreciably more acid was added annually to the agricultural soils of the area via fertilizer P and N than in rainfall. Under present conditions it would take up to 1,500 years rainfall to add as much acid as added by fertilizer in one year. Even with a dramatic decrease in rainfall pH to 4.0, this period would be 10 years. Thus, rainfall acidity presents no immediate threat to agricultural soils, groundwater, or lakes in Oklahoma and north Texas under continuing management practices, although periodic monitoring is recommended due to an increasing number of coal-fired power stations located in this area.
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