Precipitation as the Key Regulator of Acid Rain Inhibition on Forest Soil Organic Carbon Decomposition: A Global Meta-Analysis for Sustainable Ecosystem Management

Xing Yang, Fen Li, Zaihua He, Yonghui Lin (), Xingbing He () and Xiangshi Kong
Additional contact information
Xing Yang: College of Biology and Environmental Sciences, Jishou University, Jishou 416000, China
Fen Li: College of Biology and Environmental Sciences, Jishou University, Jishou 416000, China
Zaihua He: College of Biology and Environmental Sciences, Jishou University, Jishou 416000, China
Yonghui Lin: College of Biology and Environmental Sciences, Jishou University, Jishou 416000, China
Xingbing He: College of Biology and Environmental Sciences, Jishou University, Jishou 416000, China
Xiangshi Kong: College of Tourism and Management Engineering, Jishou University, Zhangjiajie 427000, China

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 17, 1-21

Abstract: Acid rain poses a significant threat to forest ecosystems globally, with substantial impacts on soil organic carbon decomposition. This study employs a meta-analysis of 361 datasets from 63 published studies to investigate the response of SOC decomposition in forest ecosystems to acid rain. Our analysis reveals that acid rain has a significant inhibitory effect on SOC decomposition. Precipitation emerges as a crucial large-scale environmental factor that differentially modulates this effect; it alleviates acid rain’s suppressive impact on litter decomposition by diluting H + ions but intensifies the inhibition of soil decomposition due to the soil’s strong adsorption capacity. Furthermore, our results indicate that acid rain exerts a more pronounced inhibitory effect on soil organic carbon decomposition than on litter decomposition. Compared to small-scale factors, precipitation plays a more significant role in regulating the inhibitory effects of acid rain on organic carbon decomposition. These findings underscore the need to integrate precipitation into carbon-cycle models and tailor management strategies to specific climates for sustainable forest carbon management. It also provides a theoretical foundation for predicting the response of forest carbon decomposition to environmental change and for balancing ecological protection with sustainable development in acid rain-impacted regions.

Keywords: acid rain; forest type; precipitation; organic carbon decomposition; organic substrate type; meta-analysis; forest sustainability; sustainable development (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/17/7714/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/17/7714/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:17:p:7714-:d:1733822

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().