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Acid soil and acid rain
240
Book reviews
Nearly half the book is devoted to effects by specific pollutants, both those which alter the physical environment and those with direct toxic effect. Much of the available information for the latter consists of results of acute toxicity tests, which can be difficult to translate into impacts on ecosystems. Work is described that relates results of laboratory LC5 o-type tests to effects in rivers. It is salutary, though, to remember that the water authorities of England and Wales concluded in the 1970s that the degree of correspondence between chemical and biological assessments of river quality was less than had been anticipated. They have now settled for quite independent chemical and biological assessments, the latter being used simply to assess whether the biota at individual sites change appreciably with time. The book achieves its author's objective, but the user will still need to think hard about what he understands by the term 'water quality'.
Acid Soil and Acid Rain. By I. R. Kennedy. Published by Research Studies Press Ltd, distributed by John Wiley & Sons Inc., New York, 1986. Pp. 234. ISBN 086380043 0. Price: £26.50. The theme of this book, intended for students in agriculture and environmental sciences, is that the effect of acid rain on soil acidity must be considered not in isolation but along with all the other processes that affect soil acidity. Therefore, more than the first half of the book considers nitrogen and sulphur cycles, the physical chemistry of energy transfer, pH, pK and buffers, and ionic balance in plant cells. The last four chapters consider: the natural and human sources of nitric and sulphuric acids, with a brief misleading account of biological effects; the properties, formation and toxicity of acid soils; remedies for acid soils; theoretical calculations to indicate management methods. Written in a curious disjointed fashion, veering from chatty surmise to statements that assume considerable scientific knowledge. F. Moriarty
Book reviews
Nearly half the book is devoted to effects by specific pollutants, both those which alter the physical environment and those with direct toxic effect. Much of the available information for the latter consists of results of acute toxicity tests, which can be difficult to translate into impacts on ecosystems. Work is described that relates results of laboratory LC5 o-type tests to effects in rivers. It is salutary, though, to remember that the water authorities of England and Wales concluded in the 1970s that the degree of correspondence between chemical and biological assessments of river quality was less than had been anticipated. They have now settled for quite independent chemical and biological assessments, the latter being used simply to assess whether the biota at individual sites change appreciably with time. The book achieves its author's objective, but the user will still need to think hard about what he understands by the term 'water quality'.
Acid Soil and Acid Rain. By I. R. Kennedy. Published by Research Studies Press Ltd, distributed by John Wiley & Sons Inc., New York, 1986. Pp. 234. ISBN 086380043 0. Price: £26.50. The theme of this book, intended for students in agriculture and environmental sciences, is that the effect of acid rain on soil acidity must be considered not in isolation but along with all the other processes that affect soil acidity. Therefore, more than the first half of the book considers nitrogen and sulphur cycles, the physical chemistry of energy transfer, pH, pK and buffers, and ionic balance in plant cells. The last four chapters consider: the natural and human sources of nitric and sulphuric acids, with a brief misleading account of biological effects; the properties, formation and toxicity of acid soils; remedies for acid soils; theoretical calculations to indicate management methods. Written in a curious disjointed fashion, veering from chatty surmise to statements that assume considerable scientific knowledge. F. Moriarty