Abstract: | This paper deals with the release of base cations and Al3+ at the treatment with simulated acid rain (SAR) in main soil types collected from South China. Results showed that the amounts of base cations increased obviously when the pH value of simulated acid rain was lower than 3.0 or 3.5. Compared with the leaching of K+ and Na+, the leaching of Ca2+ and Mg2+ was affected by the pH value of SAR. Only when the amounts of base cations leached from soils exceeded the cation exchange capacity, the pH value of leaching solutions decreased sharply and the amounts of released Al3+ increased. The H+ buffering mechanisms, which were affected notonly by the pH values of SAR, but also by the types and solid components of soils, were proposed for the main soils studied. |