Harmful effects of acid rain have been considered a serious problem. In this paper we have studied the ability of several common types of leaves to mitigate the effect of acid rain via the ability of these leaves to act as buffers in water.
The pH of leaf suspensions of cypress, pine, oak, cinchona and ficus leaves has been determined and its variation with time has been followed. The buffer capacities for these leaf suspensions have also been determined at several times over a long period of time. The effect of dilution on this buffer capacity has been studied. The speeds at which the various leaf suspensions adjust their pH value when disturbed have been studied.
The capability of the various leaves studied here to act as a buffer can be arranged in the order:
Decaying leaves have been found capable of resisting the effects of acid rain via their ability to buffer water.
In a previous study the buffering action of five common types of leaves (cypress, oak, pine, cinchona and ficus) was investigated. In the present study the effects of several factors on the buffering ability of these leaves have been studied. These factors are acidity, presence of foreign ions, concentration of leaves and location.
The studied factors have been found not to affect the pattern of variation of pH of the leaf suspensions with time but to affect the pH value reached by these suspensions.
Ficus leaves have shown a distinct copability of neutralizing acidic waters.