Soil Acidification in Loess and Clay Soils in The Netherlands

Abstract

To assess the impact of acid deposition on forested loess and clay soils in the Netherlands, changes in base saturation and soil solution concentrations were simulated with the dynamic soil acidification model ReSAM for 38 loess soils and 16 clay soils. The selected locations represent the range in geographical position and diversity in parent material occurring in forested loess and clay soils in the Netherlands. Two deposition scenarios were used for the period 1992-2050: a business as usual scenario (BAU) and a scenario in which deposition was reduced according to present Dutch policy plans (MV-3). A comparison of simulated and measured soil solution concentrations and base saturation in 1992/1993 showed that the model simulated concentrations and base saturation in the loess soils quite good. However, the model tended to overestimate acidification in the top (0-10 cm) of the clay soils. Despite the reasonable agreement between measured and simulated data some uncertainty in the validity of the model predictions remains because time trends to validate the model were not available. The model predicted a small but ongoing acidification during the BAU scenario in the loess soils as indicated by a decline in median base saturation and pH in the topsoil in 2050. Present policy plans (MV-3) lead to a slight recovery of the base saturation in 2050 and a decline in Al concentrations. In the clay soils a strong decline in base saturation is simulated in the topsoil, whereas an increase in base saturation is predicted for the subsoil.