@article {51943,
	title = {Critical loads and H+ budgets of forest soils affected by air pollution from oil sands mining in Alberta, Canada},
	volume = {69},
	year = {2013},
	month = {04/2013},
	pages = {8 pages },
	publisher = {Atmospheric Environment },
	abstract = {We investigated the critical load (CL) and exceedance (EX) of sulfur (S) deposition, temporal changes in soil chemistry, and H+ budget of soils in plots dominated by Pinus banksiana (jack pine) or Populus tremuloides (trembling aspen, aspen) in two acid-sensitive watersheds to assess the risk of soil acidification by S emissions from oil sands mining in the Athabasca oil sands region (AOSR), Canada. The CLs and EXs were determined by two methods: one was based on bulk deposition and the other based on total deposition (as a sum of bulk deposition and interception deposition). The CLs ranged from 223 to 711 molc ha-1 yr-1 based on bulk deposition. Those values were similar to that obtained based on total deposition. However, EXs based on bulk deposition were significantly lower (p   < 0.001) than those based on total deposition due to the relative increase of SO42-
 concentrations in interception deposition, indicating that EXs based on bulk deposition only could underestimate the risk of soil acidification in the AOSR. The S deposition did not exceed CLs in the long-term for both methods. The pH in the forest floor increased and available SO42-
 (as the sum of soluble and adsorbed SO42-
) in the forest floor and surface mineral soils increased in both jack pine and aspen stands between 2005 and 2010. The H+ budget ranged from -289 to -130 molc ha-1 yr-1 in jack pine stands and from -510 to -371 molc ha-1 yr-1 in aspen stands. Our results suggest that 1) soils in the studied forest stands have recovered from acidification based on the increasing soil pH over time and the negative H+ budget, and 2) the risk of soil acidification should be assessed by CL and EX calculated based on total deposition.},
	keywords = {acidity, air emissions, alkalinity, forest, forest characteristics, pH, soil properties, sulphur and SO2, UofA},
	url = {https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Scott_Chang4/publication/257522367},
	author = {Jung, Kangho and Chang, Scott X. and Ok, Yong Sik and Arshad, M. Charlie}
}
