A soil acidification study using the PROFILE model on two contrasting regions in Switzerland

The steady-state soil chemistry model PROFILE was used to calculate the chemical status of forest soils under present deposition loads for two areas with dissimilar ecosystem properties. Two regions in Switzerland, with contrasting bedrock geology were selected to be investigated in detail: 88 locations in the Jura Mountains, representative for carbonate bedrock and 91 locations in the Ticino Area dominated by metamorphic crystalline host rocks. Weathering rates calculated for the key regions cover the tremendous range between 0.013 and 25 keq ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹. In the Ticino Area, the effect of increased abundance of relatively fast weathering silicates (epidote, hornblende and plagioclase) on the weathering rate is apparently masked by the total effects of the physical conditions applied and by the variation in the deposition load. In the Jura Mountains, generally high weathering rates occur with about 50% of the sites yielding rates above 1 keq ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹. In many of the sites investigated, however, carbonates have already been dissolved completely in the soil horizons of interest resulting in very low weathering rates. The critical load of actual acidity was calculated according to: CL_Acidity=R_Weathering−ANC_Leaching, where alkalinity leaching is estimated by keeping the base cation to aluminum molar ratio at the critical limit of 1 at steady-state. The minimum critical load calculated was 0.2 keq ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ and the maximum was 6.2 keq ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹. Comparing the cumulative frequency distributions of critical loads of actual acidity for forest soils in the individual areas it can be seen that the differences between the key regions are less substantial than with the weathering rates. Critical loads of acidity for the Ticino Area range from 1 to 3.9 keq ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹. Sites yielding the lowest critical loads of acidity are observed in the Jura Mountains. Among these apparent sensitive soils are soils with intermediate or high weathering rates, although it has depleted topsoil layers. Within the context of this model application, it becomes apparent that the sensitivity of these soils with respect to acidification is also governed by the alkalinity leaching term and not only by the susceptibility of its minerals to weathering.