Ecological Engineering 8 (1997) 271 – 288 Acidification: its impact on the environment and mitigation strategies Lucjan Pawlowski Department of Enironmental Protection Engineering, Technical Uniersity of Lublin, 40, Nadbystrzycka Street, 20 -618 Lublin, Poland Received 16 November 1995; received in revised form 26 August 1996; accepted 6 September 1996 Abstract The effect of acidification on ecosystems is reviewed. About 30% of the world land area is acidified mostly by natural processes. Only a small part of it is acidified from pollution which leads to extensive forest and surface water deterioration in Europe and North America. The damage is especially visible in areas of poor soil quality. The acid deposition pattern is characterized, with a special emphasis on Poland. It was shown that strategies for mitigation of ecosystem acidification lead to a decrease of SO 2 emissions due to the use of lower sulphur content fuels and application of desulphurisation methods. Also, a decrease in NO x emis- sions is observed due to use of catalysts and application of NO x removal technologies. However, since about 50% of NO x emission is from vehicles, this improvement is offset by a continuously increasing vehicle population. The application of liming, forest fertilisation and suitable land use for mitigation of ecosystem acidification is also reviewed. © 1997 Elsevier Science B.V. Keywords: Acidification; SO 2 deposition; NO x deposition; Fuel desulphurisation; NO x reduc- tion; Soil restoration; Liming; Fertilisation 1. Introduction Acidification of the environment due to human activity is caused by sulphur and nitrogen oxides emitted from anthropogenic and natural sources. Over 90% of SO 2 0925-8574/97/$17.00 © 1997 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. PII S0925-8574(97)00023-2