The pH of the soil is important when predicting nutrient availability NOT the Sulphur content.

If you could show or demonstrate that acid rain could change a soils pH then it would follow that acid rain can alter the ability of plants to absorb nutrients from the soil. The growing requirements of the plants in question and the magnitude of pH changes would determine if the results were good or bad. How this would impact those that benafit from such plants is still another question.

What pH is you soil ?? Alkalinity problems are not much of a concern until above 7.5.

Good Day ...

Good Day...
For me, PH and sulfur are very important but they are not everything.
Some details of the project might be helpful.

In a previous science project I did on rooting hormones, I discovered through research that if the soil pH is too high, it inhibits the plants ability to use the nutrients in the soil. I was told that adding sulpher to change the soil pH would help with this problem. That is why I was wondering if acid rain could possibly change the soil pH enough to make a difference. We always hear in the news that acid rain is harmful, but I was just wondering if it could actually be beneficial in some instances.
My soil type here runs about neutral or a little higher in alkalinity. Before I start this experiement, I would have the soil tested to determine the pH and then proceed from that point. I also have very sandy soil, which may be a problem since nutrients wash through rather quickly.
I realize that some plants prefer a higher pH than others, such as azaleas,ixoras, and camelias to name a few, but I have better results with greening up plants that are not acid demanding when I use an acid fertlizer.
I haven't really started this project yet, I am trying to find out if it would be a feasible project.

"That is why I was wondering if acid rain could possibly change the soil pH enough to make a difference."

That's for you to figure out .. Right ??

In addition to knowing your soils pH you will also want to know it's "buffering capacity" or alkalinity. This will tell you how much acid your soil can absorb before it's pH starts to drop and allow you to predict how much it will change given a certain concentration of acid.

Perhaps you could collect soil samples and make an acid rain solution. Simulate acid rain and rainfall frequency by passing water through each sample fixed in a tube via sieves. Do a pre .. post and maybe a midway soil test.

Again you will be investigating acid rains ability to change your soil samples pH which we know affects nutrient availability but how this will effect certain plants and the use of these plants is NOT the issue.

A follow up project would be needed.

Good Day ...

Yes, but he would have to pass realistic amounts of 'acid rain' through the soil to produce results that have any significance. I think I would try the experiment with pond plants, find out HOW much acid rain there would need to be to have a causal affect and what the possiblilty is of ever having that much acid rain within a time peramater.

I think the initial question is the flaw.

We alrady know that enough acid rain could change the PH of the soil to have an effect on the growth of plants. That is already a given. The questions are 'HOW MUCH acid rain would it take to change the PH of the soil to an extent it would affect plant growth, and is that amount of acid rain, within a certain timeframe, realistic.

I thank you all for all the input, maybe this is too complicated a project for an 8th grade science project.
It was just an idea, but it seems that there are too many variables to consider and too long a time frame needed to complete this experiment.
We certainly do know that acid rain can change the pH of the soil, but from what I have read, the problem is in areas of the country that already have acid soil and in heavy soils that retain moisture.
The soils in our area are sandy and drain too well.
But upon thinking about it, I don't know that we could ever have enough acid rain in this area to make a difference, since we don't retain moisture in our soils at all.
Thank you again for all the help, I guess it's back to the drawing board.

Another thing worth mentioning--soil acidification would clearly not be beneficial to plants native to and adapted to an area with alkaline soil.

Patrick Alexander

It sounds like you're way ahead of most eighth graders and your project doesn't have to cover every aspect of the subject. Start small and build on it each year. You've already got some good ideas.

Weebus is right. First, consider that the soil is going to have a "buffering capacity". How much acid rain will it take to actually affect the soil's pH? You can measure that. What kind of pollution will it take to actually produce rain of this acidity? Someone else has probably already figured that out and you can do some research to find out. Is is realistic? If you decide to go for it, use plants either native to your area or maybe even better, plants often used in research such as Arabidopsis so you can reference their results. And, don't forget to include both negative and positive controls and grow them all together so you're not changing more than one factor in their growth.

Weebus's suggestion to use aquatic plants is a good one. You might even consider studying algae since they are so important to life on earth. They provide as much as 50% of earth's oxygen and they are an important source of food for both aquatic organisms and humans. Measuring dissolved oxygen in water is not hard and your science teacher or someone in a nearby university science department would probably be willing to help you get started and maybe even let you use their lab equipment to do it.

Good luck.

Here is a link that might be useful: PHOTOSYNTHESIS and OXYGEN PRODUCTION

Thank you so much for all your great advise, maybe there is a chance for this project.